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Kj  Frederick   fioodall. 


MARY     AND     THE     INFANT     SAVIOl'R. 


PS 

MARY:.     , 


THE 


QUEEN  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  DAVID 


AND 


MOTHER  OF  JESUS. 


THK  STORY  OK  HKR 


GABRIEL. — "Hail,  thou  that  art  highly  favored,  the  Lord  is  with  thee! 

Blessed  art  thou  among  women.'' 
MARY. — "All  generations  shall  call  me  blessed." 


BY 
REV.  A.  SI  EWART  WALSH,  D.  D. 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY 

REV.  T.  DE  WITT  TALMAGE,  D.  D. 
ILLUSTRATED. 


PUBLISHED  EXCLUSIVELY  BY 

A.  S.  GRAY  &  CO. 

SUCCESSORS  TO 

CENTRAL  PUBLISHING  HOUSE  AND  KEYSTONE  PUBLISHING  Co. 


PITTSBURGH,  PA. 
1889. 


COPYRIGHT   BY  H.  S.  ALLEN, 
1886. 

COPYRIGHT  OWNED  B¥ 
A    S.  GRAY. 


ARGYLE  PRLS3, 

"RINTING    ANO    BOOKBINDING, 
265   4    267    CHERRY   ST.,    N.  V. 


'CO  WOMANKIND  THROUGHOUT  THE  WORLD 

THIS 

STORY    OF    A    LIFE 


BEAUTIFUL,  BENEFICENT,  AND  INSPIRING 


BY  THE  AUTHOR. 


INTRODUCTION  TO 

THE  QUEEN   OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  DAVID. 


BY  REV.  T.   DE  WITT  TALMAGE,  D.D. 


HAVE  been  asked  to  open  the  front  door 
of  this  book.  But  I  must  not  keep  you 
standing  too  long  on  the  threshold.  The 
picture-gallery,  the  banqueting  hall  and 
the  throne-room  are  inside.  All  the  fascinations 
of  romance  are,  by  the  able  author,  thrown  around 
the  facts  of  Mary's  life.  Much-abused  tradition  is 
also  called  in  for  splendid  service.  The  pen  that 
the  author  wields  is  experienced,  graceful,  capti 
vating,  and  multipotent.  As  perhaps  no  other  book 
that  was  ever  written,  this  one  will  show  us  woman  as 
standing  at  the  head  of  the  world.  It  demonstrates  in 
the  life  of  Mary  what  woman  was  and  what  woman 
may  be.  Woman's  position  in  the  world  is  higher 
than  man's  ;  and  although  she  has  often  been  deniad 
the  right  of  suffrage,  she  always  does  vote  and  always 
will  vote — by  her  influence  ;  and  her  chief  desire  ought 
to  be  that  she  should  have  grace  rightly  to  rule  in  the 
dominion  which  she  has  already  won. 

She    has    no    equal    as    a    comforter    of    the    sick. 


viii  Introduction. 

What  land,  whai  street,  what  house  has  not  felt  the 
smitings  of  disease  ?  Tens  of  thousands  of  sick  bedsi 
What  shall  we  do  with  them  ?  Shall  man,  with  his 
rough  hand,  and  heavy  foot,  and  impatient  bearing, 
minister?  No;  he  cannot  soothe  the  pain.  He  can 
not  quiet  the  nerves.  He  knows  not  where  to  set  the 
light.  His  hand  is  not  steady  enough  to  pour  out  the 
drops.  He  is  not  wakeful  enough  to  be  watcher.  You 
have  known  men  who  have  despised  women,  but  the 
moment  disease  fell  upon  them,  they  did  not  send  for 
their  friends  at  the  bank  or  their  wordly  associates. 
Their  first  cry  was,  "Take  me  to  my  wife."  The  dis 
sipated  young  man  at  the  college  scoffs  at  the  idea  of 
being  under  home  influence ;  but  at  the  first  blast 
of  typhoid  fever  on  his  cheek  he  says,  "  Where  is 
mother?"  I  think  one  of  the  most  pathetic  passages 
in  all  the  Bible  is  the  description  of  the  lad  who  went 
out  to  the  harvest  fields  of  Shunem  and  got  sunstruck ; 
throwing  his  hands  on  his  temples,  and  crying  out, 
"  Oh,  my  head  !  my  head !  "  and  they  said,  "  Carry 
him  to  his  mother. '  And  the  record  is  "  He  sat  on 
her  knees  till  noon  and  then  died." 

In  the  war  men  cast  the  cannon,  men  fashioned  the 
muskets,  men  cried  to  the  hosts  "  Forward,  march  ! " 
men  hurled  their  battalions  on  the  sharp  edges  of 
the  enemy,  crying  "  Charge  !  charge  ! "  but  woman 
scraped  the  lint,  woman  administered  the  cordials, 
woman  watched  by  the  dying  couch,  woman  wrote 
the  last  message  to  the  home  circle,  woman  wept 
at  the  solitary  burial,  attended  by  herself  and  four 
men  with  a  spade.  Men  did  their  work  with  shot 
and  shell,  and  carbine  and  howitzer;  women  did  their 


Introduction.  ix 

work  with  socks  and  slippers,  and  bandages,  and  warm 
drinks,  and  scripture  texts,  and  gentle  soothings  of  the 
hot  temples,  and  stories  of  that  land  where  they 
never  have  any  pain.  Men  knelt  down  over  the 
wounded  and  said,  "  On  which  side  did  you  fight  ?  " 
Women  knelt  down  over  the  wounded  and  said, 
"  Where  are  you  hurt?  What  nice  thing  can  I  make 
for  you  to  eat  ?  What  makes  you  cry?"  To-night, 
while  we  men  are  soundly  asleep  in  our  beds,  there 
will  be  a  light  in  yonder  loft ;  there  will  be  groaning 
down  that  dark  alley  ;  there  will  be  cries  of  distress  in 
that  cellar.  Men  will  sleep  and  women  will  watch. 

No  one  as  well  as  a  woman  can  handle  the  poor. 
There  are  hundreds  and  thousands  of  them  in  all  our 
cities.  There  is  a  kind  of  work  that  men  cannot  do 
for  the  destitute.  Man  sometimes  gives  his  charity 
in  a  rough  way,  and  it  falls  like  the  fruit  of  a  tree 
in  the  East,  which  fruit  comes  down  so  heavily 
that  it  breaks  the  skull  of  the  man  who  is  trying 
to  gather  it.  But  woman  glides  so  softly  into  the 
house  of  want,  and  finds  out  all  the  sorrows  of 
the  place,  and  puts  so  quietly  the  donation  on  the 
table,  that  all  the  family  come  out  on  the  front  steps 
as  she  departs,  expecting  that  from  under  her  shawl 
she  will  thrust  out  two  wings  and  go  right  up  to 
Heaven,  from  whence  she  seems  to  have  come  down. 
O,  Christian  young  woman,  if  you  would  make  your 
self  happy  and  win  the  blessings  of  Christ,  go  out 
among  the  poor!  A  loaf  of  bread  or  a  bundle  of 
socks  may  make  a  homely  load  to  carry,  but  the  angels 
of  God  will  come  out  to  watch,  and  the  Lord  Almighty 
will  give  His  messenger  hosts  a  charge,  saying,  "  Look 


*  Introduction. 

after  that  woman ,  canopy  her  with  your  wings,  and 
shelter  her  from  all  harm."  And  while  you  are  seated 
in  the  house  of  destitution  and  suffering,  the  little 
ones  around  the  room  will  whisper,  "Who  is  she?  is 
she  not  beautiful  ?  "  and  if  you  will  listen  right  sharply, 
you  will  hear  dripping  through  the  leaky  roof,  and 
rolling  over  the  broken  stairs,  the  angel  chant  that 
shook  Bethlehem  :  "  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and 
on  earth  peace  and  good  will  to  man."  Can  you  tell 
why  a  Christian  woman,  going  down  among  the  haunts 
of  iniquity  on  a  Christian  errand,  seldom  meets  with 
any  indignity  ? 

I  stood  in  the  chapel  of  Helen  Chalmers,  the  daugh 
ter  of  the  celebrated  Dr.  Chalmers,  in  the  most  aban. 
doned  part  of  the  city  of  Edinburg;  and  I  said  to  her, 
as  I  looked  around  upon  the  fearful  surroundings  of 
that  place,  "  Do  you  come  here  nights  to  hold  a 
service?"  "  Oh,  yes,"  she  said;  "I  take  my  lantern 
and  I  go  through  all  these  haunts  of  sin,  the  darkest 
and  the  worst ;  and  I  ask  all  the  men  and  women  to 
come  to  the  chapel,  and  then  I  sing  for  them,  and  I 
pray  for  them,  and  I  talk  to  them."  I  said,  "  Can  it  be 
possible  that  you  never  meet  with  an  insult  while  per- 
forming  this  Christian  errand?"  "Never,"  she  said; 
"  never."  That  young  woman,  who  has  her  father  by 
her  side,  walking  down  the  street,  and  an  armed  police 
man  at  each  corner  is  not  so  well  defended  as  that 
Christian  woman  who  goes  forth  on  Gospel  work  into 
the  haunts  of  iniquity  carrying  the  Bible  and  bread. 

Some  one  said,  "  I  dislike  very  much  to  see  that 
Christian  woman  teaching  these  bad  boys  in  the 
mission  school.  I  am  afraid  to  have  her  instruct 


Introduction.  xi 

them."  "  So,"  said  another  man,  "  I  am  afraid  too." 
Said  the  first,  "  I  am  afraid  they  will  use  vile  language 
before  they  leave  the  place."  "  Ah,"  said  the  other 
man,  "  I  am  not  afraid  of  that  ;  what  I  am  afraid  of  is, 
that  if  any  of  those  boys  should  use  a  bad  word  in  her 
presence,  the  other  boys  would  tear  him  to  pieces — 
killing  him  on  the  spot." 

Woman  is  especially  endowed  to  soothe  disaster. 
She  is  called  the  weaker  vessel,  but  all  profane  as  well 
as  sacred  history  attests  that  when  the  crisis  comes  she 
is  better  prepared  than  man  to  meet  the  emergency. 
How  often  have  you  seen  a  woman  who  seemed  to  be 
a  disciple  of  frivolity  and  indolence,  who,  under 
one  stroke  of  calamity,  changed  to  be  a  heroine. 
There  was  a  crisis  in  your  affairs,  you  struggled 
bravely  and  long,  but  after  a  while  there  came  a 
day  when  you  said,  "  Here  I  shall  have  to  stop ; " 
and  you  called  in  your  partners,  and  you  called 
in  the  most  prominent  men  in  your  employ,  and 
you  said,  "We  have  got  to  stop."  You  left  the 
store  suddenly ;  you  could  hardly  make  up  your 
mind  to  pass  through  the  street  and  over  on  the 
ferry-boat  ;  you  felt  everybody  would  be  looking  at  you 
and  blaming  you  and  denouncing  you.  You  hastened 
home  ;  you  told  your  wife  all  about  the  affair.  What 
did  she  say  ?  Did  she  play  the  butterfly  ;  did  she  talk 
about  the  silks  and  the  ribbons  and  the  fashions  ?  No  ; 
she  came  up  to  the  emergency;  she  quailed  not  under 
the  stroke.  She  helped  you  to  begin  to  plan  right 
away.  She  offered  to  go  out  of  the  comfortable  house 
into  a  smaller  one,  and  wear  the  old  cloak  another 
winter.  She  was  one  who  understood  your  affairs 


xif  Introduction. 

» 

without  blaming  you.  You  looked  upon  what  you 
thought  was  a  thin,  weak  woman's  arm  holding  you 
up  ;  but  while  you  looked  at  that  arm  there  came  into 
the  feeble  muscles  of  it  the  strength  of  the  eternal 
God.  No  chiding.  No  fretting.  No  telling  you 
about  the  beautiful  house  of  her  father,  from  which 
you  brought  her,  ten,  twenty,  or  thirty  years  ago. 
You  said,  "  Well,  this  is  the  happiest  day  of  my 
life.  I  am  glad  I  have  got  from  under  my  burden. 
My  wife  don't  care — I  don't  care."  At  the  moment 
you  were  utterly  exhausted,  God  sent  a  Deborah 
to  meet  the  host  of  the  Amalekites  and  scatter 
them  like  chaff  over  the  plain.  There  are  scores 
and  hundreds  of  households  to-day  where  as  much 
bravery  and  courage  are  demanded  of  woman  as  was 
exhibited  by  Grace  Darling  or  Marie  Antoinette  or 
Joan  of  Arc. 

Woman  is  further  endowed  to  bring  us  into  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven.  It  is  easier  for  a  woman  to  be  a 
Christian  than  for  a  man.  Why?  You  say  she  is 
weaker.  No.  Her  heart  is  more  responsive  to  the 
pleadings  of  divine  love.  The  fact  that  she  can  more 
easily  become  a  Christian,  I  prove  by  the  statement 
that  three-fourths  of  the  members  of  the  churches  in 
all  Christendom  are  women.  So  God  appoints  them 
to  be  the  chief  agencies  for  bringing  this  world  back  to 
God.  The  greatest  sermons  are  not  preached  on 
celebrated  platforms  ;  they  are  preached  with  an  audi 
ence  of  two  or  three  and  in  private  home-life.  A 
patient,  loving,  Christian  demeanor  in  the  presence  of 
transgression,  in  the  presence  of  hardness,  in  the  pres 
ence  of  obduracy  and  crime,  is  an  argument  from  the 


Introduction.  xiii 

throne  of  the  Lord  Almighjy ;  and  blessed  is  that 
woman  who  can  wield  such  an  argument.  A  sailor 
came  slipping  down  the  ratlin  one  night  as  though 
something  had  happened,  and  the  sailors  cried, 
•'What's  the  matter?"  He  said,  "My  mother's 
prayers  haunt  me  like  a  ghost." 

In  what  a  realm  is  every  mother  the  queen.  The 
eagles  of  heaven  can  not  fly  across  that  dominion. 
Horses,  panting  and  with  lathered  flanks,  are  not  swift 
enough  to  run  to  the  outpost  of  that  realm,  and 
death  itself  will  only  be  the  annexation  of  heavenly 
principalities.  When  you  want  your  grandest  idea 
of  a  queen  you  do  not  think  of  Catherine  of 
Russia,  or  of  Anne  of  England,  or  Maria  Theresa 
of  Germany :  but  when  you  want  to  get  your  grand 
est  idea  of  a  queen  you  think  of  the  plain  woman 
who  sat  opposite  your  father  at  the  table  or  walked 
with  him,  arm  in  arm,  down  life's  pathway ;  some 
times  to  the  Thanksgiving  banquet,  sometimes  to 
the  grave,  but  always  together ;  soothing  your  petty 
griefs,  correcting  your  childish  waywardness,  joining 
in  your  infantile  sports,  listening  to  your  evening 
prayer,  toiling  for  you  with  needle  or  at  the  spinning 
wheel,  and  on  cold  nights  wrapping  you  up  snug  and 
warm  ;  and  then,  at  last,  on  that  day  when  she  lay  in 
the  back  room  dying,  and  you  saw  her  take  those  thin 
hands  with  which  she  had  toiled  for  you  so  long,  and 
put  them  together  in  a  dying  prayer  that  commended 
you  to  the  God  whom  she  had  taught  you  to  trust — 
oh,  she  was  the  queen  !  The  chariots  of  God  came 
down  to  fetch  her,  and  as  she  went  in,  all  heaven  rose 
up.  You  can  not  think  of  her  now  without  a  rush  of 


xiv  Introduction. 

tenderness  that  stirs  the  deep  foundations  of  your 
soul,  and  you  feel  as  much  a  child  again  as  when  you 
cried  on  her  lap ;  and  if  you  could  bring  her  back  to 
life  again  to  speak,  just  once  more,  your  name  as  ten 
derly  as  she  used  to  speak  it,  you  would  be  willing  to 
throw  yourself  on  the  ground  and  kiss  the  sod  that 
covers  her,  crying,  "  Mother  !  mother !  "  Ah,  she  was 
the  queen ! 

Home  influences  are  the  mightiest  of  all  influences 
upon  the  soul.  There  are  men  who  have  maintained 
their  integrity,  not  because  they  were  any  better 
naturally  than  some  other  people,  but  because  there 
were  home  influences  praying  for  them  all  the  time. 
They  got  a  good  start.  They  were  launched  on  the 
world  with  the  benedictions  of  a  Christian  mother. 
They  may  track  Siberian  snows,  they  may  plunge 
into  African  jungles,  they  may  fly  to  the  earth's  end, 
they  can  not  go  so  far  and  so  fast  but  the  prayer  will 
keep  up  with  them.  Oh,  what  a  multitude  of  women 
in  heaven.  Mary,  Christ's  mother,  in  heaven.  Eliza 
beth  Fry  in  heaven.  Charlotte  Elizabeth  in  heaven. 
The  mother  of  Augustine  in  heaven.  The  Countess 
of  Huntingdon  is  in  heaven — who  sold  her  splendid 
jewels  to  build  chapels — in  heaven  ;  while  a  great 
many  others  who  have  never  been  heard  of  on 
earth,  or  known  but  little  of,  have  gone  into  the 
rest  and  peace  of  heaven.  What  a  rest.  What  a 
change  it  was  from  the  small  room  with  no  fire 
and  one  window,  the  glass  broken  out,  and  the 
aching  side  and  worn  out  eyes,  to  the  "  house  of  many 
mansions."  Heaven  for  aching  heads.  Heaven  for 
broken  hearts.  Heaven  for  anguish-bitten  frames. 


Introduction.  xv 

No  more  sitting  up  until  midnight  for  the  coming 
of  staggering  steps.  No  more  rough  blows  on  the 
temples.  No  more  sharp,  keen,  bitter  curses. 

Some  of  you  will  have  no  rest  in  this  world  ;  it  will 
be  toil  and  struggle  all  the  way  up.  You  will  have  to 
stand  at  your  door  fighting  back  the  wolf  with  your 
own  hand  red  with  carnage.  But  God  has  a  crown  for 
you.  He  is  now  making  it,  and  whenever  you  weep  a 
tear,  He  sets  another  gem  in  that  crown;  whenever 
you  have  a  pang  of  body  or  soul,  He  puts  another  gem 
in  that  crown,  until  after  a  while  in  all  the  tiara  there 
will  be  no  room  for  another  splendor;  and  God  will 
say  to  his  angel,  "  The  crown  is  done  ;  let  her  up  that 
she  may  wear  it."  And  as  the  Lord  of  righteousness 
puts  the  crown  upon  your  brow,  angel  will  cry  to 
angel,  "  Who  is  she  ?  "  and  Christ  will  say,  "  I  will 
tell  you  who  she  is ;  she  is  the  one  that  came  up  out 
of  great  tribulation  and  had  her  robe  washed  and  made 
white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb."  And  then  God  will 
spread  a  banquet,  and  He  will  invite  all  the  principali 
ties  of  heaven  to  sit  at  the  feast,  and  the  tables  will 
blush  with  the  best  clusters  from  the  vineyards  of  God 
and  crimson  with  the  twelve  manner  of  fruits  from  the 
tree  of  life,  and  water  from  the  fountains  of  the  rock 
will  flash  from  the  golden  tankards  ;  and  the  old 
harpers  of  heaven  will  sit  there,  making  music  with 
their  harps,  and  Christ  will  point  you  out  amid  the 
celebrities  of  heaven,  saying,  "  She  suffered  with  me 
on  earth,  now  we  are  going  to  be  glorified  together." 
And  the  banquetters,  no  longer  able  to  hold  their 
peace,  will  break  forth  with  congratulation.  "Hail! 
hail !"  And  there  will  be  A  handwriting  on  the  wall; 


xvl  Introduction* 

not  such  as  struck  the  Persian  noblemen  with  horror, 
but  with  fire-tipped  fingers  writing  in  blazing  capitals 
of  light  and  love  and  victory :  "  God  has  wiped  away 
all  tears  from  all  faces." 

And  now  I  leave  you  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  Walsh, 
the  author  of  this  book.  He  will  show  you  Mary,  the 
model  of  all  womanly,  wifely,  motherly  excellence — 
the  Madonna  hanging  in  the  Louvre  of  admiration  for 
all  Christendom,  and  for  many  millions  in  the  higher 
Vatican  of  their  worship. 

T.  DE  WITT  TALMAGE, 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. — THE  QUEEN'S  PORTRAIT. 

*  A  form  beloved  comes  again  " — Inspired  painters  in  I 
voyage  of  discovery — Tributes  to  Mary,  honoring  ali 
womankind — Guide's  wish — Madonnas  of  many  climes. 
Raphael's  "Transfigured  Woman  " Savonarola's  bon 
fire St.  Luke's  picture  of  the  Virgin — The  Vandal 

spirit Page  29 

CHAPTER  II. — THE  PILGRIM,  CRUSADER  AND  VIRGIN. 

Life  a  pilgrimage — Pilgrims  of  many  faiths — A  struggle  for 
holy  places  between  the  Pilgrim-Crusaders  and  Mos 
lem — The  harem  and  the  home — The  rise  of  Chivalry — 
The  Knights  and  "  Our  Lady  " — The  results  of  the  Cru 
sades Page  36 

CHAPTER  III. — ARMAGEDDON  !    "  THE  KEY  AND  SICKLE." 

"  The  wandering  hermit  wakes  the  storms  of  war  " — Acre 
and  Esdrselon,  the  "Armageddon  "  or  "  Mountain  of  the 
Gospel "  of  the  Scriptures — The  battle-field  of  nations — 
The  City  of  Jeanne  d'Arc.  The  jewel  in  the  sickle-haft— 
Prince  Edward,  the  Crusade  leader — Sultan  Kha-tel— 
The  sacking  of  Acre — Actors  introduced.  .  Page  48 

CHAPTER  IV. — SIR    CHARLEROY  ;  THE  SOLDIER  OF  FOR 
TUNE  AND  KNIGHT  OF  SAINT  MARY. 

The  flight  from  Acre  to  Nazareth — The  born-leader — Life 
estimates  with  Death  holding  the  scales — A  prince 
honors,  a  bishop  blesses,  and  a  mother  loves — An  epit- 
ome  of  paradoxes ...  Page  53 


x-viii  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

CHAPTER  V. — NAZARETH. 

Nazareth,  the  place  of  Mary's  nativity — The  choice  of 
a  leader — The  coward  king — The  Virgin's  Fount — • 
English  songsters — The  Knights'  mountain  Litany — 
Longings  for  home  and  mother — Nain  and  Endor's 
lessons. Page  61 

CHAPTER  VI. — THE  FUGITIVES. 

A  night  bivouac  amid  sacred  scenes — The  "  Knight  of  the 
Holy-Sepulcher "  who  fled  on  "a  white  charger  with 
black  wings  " — The  funeral  at  dawn — Mary's  palm- 
bearing  angel-guard — The  twelve  knights  separate  into 
two  parties — Will-makings  and  farewells — By  Endor 
to  oblivion Page  74 

CHAPTER  VII. — ICHABOD. 

Sir  Charleroy's  band  approach  Shunem,  the  City  of  Elijah 
— The  surprise — Sir  Charleroy  the  captive  of  Azrael  the 
Mameluke — The  Mohammedan  heaven  depicted — "  A 
hair,  the  bridge  over  hell  " — The  odoriferous  houris — A 
gorgeous  charnel-house  blasted — The  prodigal  becomes 
the  herald  of  purity — The  Knight  of  Saint  Mary  and  the 
Jewish  Spy — Adversity  makes  the  Knight  and  the  Jew 
friends — The  Knight  instructing  Ichabod — "  'Till  Shiloh 
comes  " — "  The  true,  refined  and  final  Judaism" — "  The 
east  and  the  west  embracing ;  truth  leading." — An 
honest  doubt  is  a  real  prayer.  .....  Page  82 

CHAPTER  VIII. — FROM  JERICHO  TO  JORDON. 

The  radiant  proselyte — Climbing  to  glory — The  ghostly 
forms  hovering  over  submerged  Sodom — Jordon's  sweet 
ening — Siddim-angels  among  the  willovrs  and  oleanders 
by  the  Dead  Sea — Summonsed  to  fight  for  the  Crescent 
or  go  to  the  slave  mart — Nourahmal  "  The  light  of  the 
harem"  becomes  the  disciple  and  friend  of  Ichabod — 
A  debate  concerning  women — A  rarity  and  a  wonder — 
"  I  told  her  women  had  souls  ;  she  laughed  like  a 
monkey  " — The  flight  from  Jericho  by  night — The 
lightning — God's  torch —  "  Canst  thou  dance  rock* 


Contents.  xix 

irto  camels  ?  " — A  mummy's  flight,  and  the  burial  of  a 
live  man — "  Unclean  " — The  solemn  passage  of  Jor 
dan Page  93 

CHAPTER  IX. — THE  FEAST  OF  THE  ROSE. 

\  breakfast  of  lentils  and  barley  in  the  wilderness — The 
gloom  of  the  Knight  and  the  joy  of  the  Jew — Sermons  on 
fate  and  songs  in  flowers — The  poetry  of  Ichabod — Celi 
bacy  a  reward  at  Rome — Kneph  "  The  father  of  his 
mother  " — The  heathen  and  the  Christian  "  Feast  of 
the  Rose  "-—The  summary  of  the  events  in  Mary's  life 
and  in  the  life  of  Jesus — The  Egyptian  Rosary — Neb-ta 
the  maiden  sister — The  egg  and  the  cross,  ancient  signs 
of  immortality — The  Copt  priest — The  insights  of  the 
Egyptians  symbolized  by  the  Sphinx.  .  .  Page  113 

CHAPTER  X. — AFTER  EVE,  ESTHER  OR  MARY  ? 

By  Jabbock,  in  the  native  place  of  Ichabod — Israelitish 
maidens  keeping  the  feast  of  Esther — Religious  love, 
filial  love  and  lover's  love — The  poetic  Jew's  rhapsody 
concerning  affection — God's  voice  in  the  Garden — The 
ideal  women  of  the  Old  Testament  and  of  the  New — The 
Jew's  cry  for  mother — Vacillating  Sir  Charleroy — 
"  Echo's  Magic" — Jewish  customs.  .  .  .  Page  135 

CHAPTER  XI. — THE  FEAST  OF  PURIM. 

A.  night-scene  by  Jabbock — Harrimai  the  priest,  and  his 
daughter  Rizpah — The  religious  ceremonial  and  the 
revel — Sir  Charleroy  and  Rizpah  as  "  Ahasuerus  and 
Esther  " — The  Knight's  secret  discovered — Conquest  of 
a  woman's  heart  through  pity — "  Of  what  metals  Jewish 
maidens  are." Page  152 

CHAPTER  XII. — ASTARTE  OR  MARY? 

The  Knight  of  Saint  Mary  enslaved  by  a  Hebrew  beauty — 
The  journey  toward  Bozrah — The  Mameluke  attack — 
The  hand  to  hand  fight — Sir  Charleroy  wounded  and 
Ichabod  slain — Rizpah's  heroism  in  peril — Espousal  in 
the  face  of  death — A  wonderful  vision.  .  .  Page  170 


xx  'Hie  (jueen  oj  the  fiousc  of  jJavict. 

CHAPTER  XIII. — FROM   RAMOTH   GILEAD  TO   DAMAScua 

Teacher  and  pupil  become  patient  and  nurse — Perilous  re 
lations — Delights,  assurances,  fears  and  clouds — Harri- 
mai's  discovery  and  his  malediction — Love's  debate  and 
decision  —  Elopement  by  night — the  Knight  and  the 
Jewess  wedded  at  Damascus Page  182 

CHAPTER  XIV. — THE  THEATER  OF  THE  GIANTS. 

The  death  of  Harrimai — A  honey-moon  in  the  "  Eye  of  the 
East" — To  Bashan  with  the  Mecca  chaplet-seekers — 
Nature,  art  and  desolation — Lejah's  black  lava-sea — The 
frenzies  of  Gerash's  passion-flower — Reaction  after  ex 
altation — "  A  camel  voyage  in-sea" — Rizpah's  challenge 
— Jealous  of  Sir  Charleroy's  love  for  Mary — "  Illusion  " 
- — The  church  of  Saint  George  at  Edrei — Recrimination 
— Ridicule  costly  to  pride — Neither  Christian,  Jew  nor 
Pagan — A  woman  with  unsettled  faith — A  babe  poisoned 
by  its  mother's  passion — The  lamp  and  the  palm-trees 
— The  Knight's  appeals — Omens — A  beacon  needed — • 
Fleeing  the  Lejah — To  Bozrah Page  195 

CHAPTER  XV. — THE  REVELS  OF  MEN  AND  THE  RITES  OF 
THEIR  GODDESSES. 

Kunawat  at  the  City  of  Job — The  Shrine  of  Astarte — The 
Cyclopean  image — Questioning  the  Soul,  Time  and 
God — Hugeness,  greatness  ;  littleness,  caricature — The 
naked  worshipers  of  the  golden  calf — Sins  exposed — 
Purity's  vision — Phallic  mysteries — Khem — Female 
deities — Dualism — Immortality  by  progeny  and  by  re 
generation — The  fire-worshiper's  mystic  number  eight, 
and  the  Jewish  covenant  number  seven.  .  Page  212 

CHAPTER  XVI. — A  BATTLE  OF  GIANTS  AT  BOZRAH. 

Houses  forty  centuries  old — The  old  stone-house  of  an 
ancient  giant  becomes  the  home  of  the  knight  and  his 
wife — How  circumstances  cluange  people — Recrimina 
tions  and  reconciliation — "  The  gall  taken  from  animals 
offered  to  Juno,  goddess  of  marriage  " — Rizpah's  temper 
that  seemed  brilliant  before  wedlock,  afterward  seems  to 


Contents,  xxi 

Sir  Charleroy  very  like  that  of  a  virago — The  charming 
nonsense  of  those  for  the  first  time  parents — Shall  she 
be  named  Davidah,  Angela,  Marah  or  Mary  ? — The 
Chrijtian  and  Jewish  faith  battle  about  the  cradle — The 
separation  of  husband  and  wife,  in  anger — The  sick 
child  and  the  desolated,  deserted  wife — Rizpah  longs 
for  a  mother,  such  as  Mary  of  Bethlehem.  .  Page  224 

CHAPTER  XVII. — RIZPAH  THE  ANCIENT  MOTHER  OF  BOR 
ROWS. 

After  many  years,  Rizpah  dwells  in  Bozrah  with  her  three 
children — Rizpah  of  Bozrah  fascinated  by  Rizpah  of 
Gibeah  —  Miriamne  the  daughter  of  Rizpah — The 
daughter  appalled  by  her  mother's  mysterious  hallucina 
tions— The  wonders  of  mother-love — The  story  of  the 
ancient,  Jewish  "  Mother  of  Sorrows  " — The  omen  of 
the  bat  and  the  parable  of  the  stars.  .  .  Page  245 

CHAPTER  XVIII. — THE  QUEEN  PROCLAIMED  IN  THE  GIANT 

CITY. 

The  old  and  the  young  Jews — The  old  Christian  priest  and 
his  Jewess  proselyte — Attacked  by  Mamelukes — The 
'  Old  Clock  Man  " — The  Balsam  Band — Miriamne, 
the  Jewess  proselyte,  questions  concerning  the  queen 
of  the  old  priest's  heart — The  miraculous  picture  of 
Mary  at  Damascus — Silver  hands  and  feet — Crown 
jewels Page  264 

CHAPTER  XIX. — THE  STORY  OF  MARY'S  CHILDHOOD. 

Page  282 

CHAPTER   XX. — THE   WEDDING — THE    BIRTH    AND    THE 

FLIGHT. 

The  birth  of  Jesus  and  the  flight  to  Egypt — Miriamne 
reads  to  her  mother  a  Christian  account  of  Mary's 
espousal — Rizpah  curious  but  doubtful.  .  Page  293 

CHAPTER  XXI.— THE  QUEEN  AND  HER  FAMILY  IN  EGYPT. 

Father  Adolphus  and  Miriamne  converse  of  the  Holy 
family's  sojourn  in  Egypt — Heliopolis  and  Ihe  Temple 


xxii  The  Queen  of  tJie  House  of  David. 

of  the  Sun — Fire-worshipers — At  Memphis,  the  snrine 
of  Apis  the  sacred  bull — The  red  heifer  of  Israel — The 
Holy  Family  rescued  in  Egypt  by  a  robber  who  after 
ward  died  on  the  cross  next  to  the  Savior — The  legend 
of  a  gipsy's  prophecy  concerning  Jesus — Zingarella 
won  by  the  Virgin Page  312 

CHAPTER  XXII. — THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CROSS. 

Rizpah  dreading  heresy  yet  charmed  by  the  story  of  the 
"  Girl  Wife  " — "Behold  my  mother  and  brethren" — 
Christ's  message  to  his  widowed  mother — The  "  Church 
of  the  Terror  " — Rizpah's  vision  of  "  Glad  Tidings." 
Rizpah  of  Bozrah  allured  from  Rizpah  of  Gibeah — A 
hot-chase  after  an  old  love — The  sword  that  pierced 
Mary — The  shadow  of  the  cross  horrifies  Rizpah — The 
faith  of  the  Nazarene  denounced — Miriamne  driven 
from  home  by  her  mother Page  322 

CHAPTER  XXIII. — THE  MISERERE  AND  THE  EASTER  AN 
THEM. 

Miriamne  alone  at  night  in  the  giant  city — A  refuge  at  the 
Christian  priest's — The  midnight  Miserere — Penitents 
— Easter  at  Bozrah — Finding  the  mother-love  in  God's 
heart Page  337 

CHAPTER  XXIV. — A  HEROINE'S  PILGRIMAGE. 

The  convert's  yearnings — "  Go  and  tell  " — When  parents 
oppose  each  other  which  shall  the  child  follow? — A 
child  of  the  kingdom  in  a  new  family  circle — Jesus, 
Mary  and  the  elect — Miriamne's  two  great  ambitions — 
Living  apart  may  be  as  sinful  as  actual  divorcement — 
Father  Adolphus  encourages  and  Rizpah  opposes  Miri 
amne — Rizpah  recounts  to  Miriamne  the  story  of  her 
love  for  Sir  Charleroy,  his  madness  and  her  own  futile 
visit  to  London  in  the  effort  to  win  him  back — The 
curse  of  heredity — "  I'll  disown  thee  with  tears  in  my 
voice  and  kisses  in  my  heart." Page  351 

CHAPTER  XXV. — COXSOLATRIX  AFFLICTORUM. 

Miriamne's  welcome  by  the  London  Palestineans — The 
daughter  meets  her  father  in  a  mad-house — Disappoint- 


Contents.  xxiii 

merit — The  flight — The  search — The  White  Madonna 
ot  the  Asylum  Park — Love  the  remedy  of  minds  per 
turbed  by  hate — Pallas-Athene  the  virgin  of  the 
fteatheii— Miriamne's  letter  to  her  mother  and  its  grim 
answer .  .  Page  367 

CHAPTER  XXVI. — THE  WEDDING  AT  CANA. 

Sir  Charleroy  giving  signs  of  recovery  under  Miriamne's 
ministries — A  remarkable  service  in  the  chapel  of  the 
Palestineans — The  knight  interested  in  the  story  of 
Cana — The  address  of  Cornelius,  on  "  Home  "  and 
"Marriage"  —  "Is  this  London  or  Bozrah  ?  "  —  Sir 
Charleroy's  sudden  relapse — Miriamne's  adroit  minis 
tries — Memories  that  awaken  hopes — The  clouds  again 
lifting — Mary's  life  motto Page  381 

CHAPTER  XXVII. — THE  STAR  OF  THE  SEA. 

Sir  Charleroy,  partially  restored,  with  Miriamne  and  Corne 
lius  journeying  toward  Syria — Passing  Cyprus — Olym 
pus — A  storm  rising  on  the  Mediterranean — Cornelius 
presses  his  love  suit  on  Miriamne — Miriamne  pledges 
love,  but  pleads  her  mission  as  a  barrier  to  marriage — 
Conflicts  below,  tempests  aloft — A  dream  ;  Venus's 
court  and  Mary's  triumph — Sir  Charleroy  in  frenzy  de 
fying  the  billows — An  hour  of  peril — The  "Lightning 
Song  "  of  the  sailors — The  twin  stars — "  Mary,  Star  of 
the  Sea  " — The  victims  of  fabricated  consciences — • 
Parting Page  397 

CHAPTER    XXVIII. — THE    QUEEN    IN    THE    VALLEY    OF 
SORROWS. 

Father  and  daughter  at  Acre — The  mysterious  Hospitaler — 
From  Acre  to  Joppa — "  The  myths  are  as  full  of  women 
as  the  women  are  full  of  myths" — The  wars  of  men  about 
women — At  Jerusalem — The  wonderful  words  of  the 
Knight-Hospitaler,  turned  preacher — The  Via  Dolorosa 
— The  Valley  of  Jehosaphat — The  mountain  outlook — 
"  Soldiers  Speed  the  Cross  " — Mary,  the  sun  of  women, 
rising  in  moral  grandeur  above  the  women  of  the  grove- 
shrines — The  panorama  of  the  ages,  passing  before 
Mary's  mind Tage  419 


xxiv  TJic  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

CHAPTER    XXIX. — Two    DEAD    HEARTS  UNITING    Two 
LIVING  ONES. 

From  Jerusalem  to  Bozrah — The  tomb  of  Ichabod — Sir 
Charleroy  argues  against  meeting  Rizpah — Miriamne's 
strong  argument  in  behalf  of  the  lasting  obligations  of 
marriage — A  husband  reaching  the  climax  of  revenges 
— Joseph  by  kindness  kept  Mary  in  sweet  mood  and  so 
blessed  the  unborn  Christ — "  Miriamne,  I  am  a  bundle 
of  contradictions  !  " — The  news-rider — A  plague  at  Bozrah 
-«-De  Griffin's  twins  nigh  death — Miriamne  meets  her 
mother — Reconciliation — A  strange  funeral  ;  only  two 
women  as  mourners  and  pall-bearers.  .  .  Page  437 

CHAPTER  XXX. — THE  "  KNIGHT  OF  SAINT  MARY  "  AND 
RIZPAH  AT  THE  GRAVE  OF  THEIR  SONS. 

Father  Adolphus  and  Sir  Charleroy — A  ruined  temple  and 
a  ruined  man — "A  woman,  a  woman  leading  in  religion!  " — 
Jesus  and  Magdalena — The  twelve  appearings  of  the 
lingering  Christ — The  Savior's  love-letter  from  heaven  to 
His  mother — Lucifer's  attempt  at  suicide — The  kiss 
befouled  by  treason — The  meeting  of  Sir  Charleroy  and 
Rizpah — "  The  tomb  of  giant-love  grown  to  mad-hate." 

Page  453 

CHAPTER    XXXI. — THE    ROSE,   QUEEN   OF    HEARTS    IN 

BOZRAH. 

A  scene  of  domestic  happiness — Love  the  vassal  of  the  will 
— Neb-ta  in  the  "  Judgment  Hall  of  Truth  " — The  lambs 
that  are  offered  by  sectarian  hates — The  Arcana  of 
glorious  wedded  love — Rizpah  transformed — Miriamne's 
public  profession  of  Christ — Cornelius  Woelfkin  again 
appeals  for  union  in  wedlock — An  inner  and  an  outer 
Miriamne — The  coronation  of  love — The  solemn  espousal. 

Page  467 

CHAPTER  XXXII. — THE  QUEEN  AND  THE  GRAIL-SEEKERS. 

*  The  gold  of  my  heart  to  the  man  that  piloted  me  to  hap 
piness  " — Miriamne  yearns  for  a  world  in  sin — Has  the 
Church  or  God  failed  ? — A  revolutionary  reformer — The 
»tory  of  the  grail  quest — The  quest  of  a  heavenly  cure 


Contents,  xxv 

for  human  ills — The  triumphant  Adam  and  Eve — The 
queenly  women  of  patriarchal  times — The  mother  of  the 
Savior  as  the  wife  of  a  carpenter — What  kept  her  young 
heart  from  breaking — Miriamne's  farewell  to  Bozrah. 

Page  484 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. — THE  HOSPITALER'S  ORATION. 

The  secret  meeting  of  the  Knights  at  the  house  of  Phebe — 
Swords  bent  sickle-like  and  spears  crossed — After  war, 
social  victories — Sunrise  at  midnight — Each  career 
determined  by  the  life  that  gives  life — The  girdle  of 
Venus — Next  after  God,  Mary  chiefly  instrumental  in 
giving  the  world  a  Savior Page  498 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. — MEMORIALS  AT  BOZRAH. 

The  death  of  Dorothea — The  priest  of  the  wayside — The 
wedding  of  Cornelius  and  Miriamne — A  pilgrimage  to 
the  tombs  of  Adolphus,  Charieroy  and  Rizpah.  Back- 
look,  and  outlooks Page  510 

CHAPTER  XXXV. — THE  SISTERS  OF  BETHANY. 

The  Missioners  at  Bethany — The  site  of  the  Home  of  Jesus — 
Miriamne's  ideal  society — The  miracle  age — A  home,  not 
a  throne,  the  place  of  Ascension — Will  Jesus  so  return  ? 
— The  angel  bivouac Page  522 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. — THE  QUEEN  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  DAVID. 

The  Knight's  Pentecost — In  the  upper  room  of  Joseph  of 
Arimathcea — Mary's  title  and  realm — Luke,  the  word- 
painter — The  smoke  side  and  the  fire  side  of  Pentecost. 

Page  529 

CHAPTER    XXXVII. — THE    CORONATION  OF  THE   QUEEN. 

The  Hospitaler  deemed  a  prophet  at  Bethany.  The  legiti 
macy  of  Jesus  as  the  "  son  of  David  "  assured  through 
His  mother — "The  reign  of  blood"  —  First  born — • 
Pagan  Rome  made  sponsor  for  Mary's  son — Doomsday 
books  and  royal  charters Page  538 


xxvi  The  Queen  oj  the  House  oj  David. 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII. — THE   "  LIGHT   OF  THE  HAREM  "  IN 
THE  "  TEMPLE  OF  ALLEGORY." 

The  old  church  at  Bethany — A  dedication — The  wonders 
of  symbolism — Idolatry  and  Mariolatry.  .  .  Page  548 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. — CROWN  JEWELS. 

The  Hospitaler  warns  the  Missioners  of  the  Sheik  of  Jerusa 
lem's  designs — The  son  of  Azrael — Immunity  purchased 
— The  wedding  of  Beulah,  Nourahmal's  grand-daughter  to 
a  Jewish  convert — The  wedding  address — Juno-Moneta 
— Crown  jewels  of  maidens  and  mothers — Mary  sounding 
the  depths  of  woman's  miseries — A  malediction  for  lust — 
"  Knights  of  the  White  Cross  " — The  lost  woman  dreaming 
of  how  it  seems  to  have  a  mother's  arms  infolding  her — 
The  Virgin's  potent  example Page  568 

CHAPTER  XL. — THE  QUEEN'S  VISION  OF  THE  AGE  OF  GOLD 
AND  FIRE. 

NouraKmal  wed  to  the  Druse  camel-driver — the  Druse  con 
verted — The  Hospitaler's  message — Ezekiel  prophecies 
fulfilled  at  Olivet — The  "  Mother's  pillow  " — Gabriel,  the 
"  Angel  of  Mothers  and  of  Victories."  .  .  Page  581 

CHAPTER  XLI. — A  CHIME   AND  A  DIRGE   AT   CHRISTMAS 
TIME. 

"  Motherhood  priced  "  "  Thou  shall  be  saved  in  child- 
bearing — Sylvan  gods  of  Rome — "  The  Miriamites," — 
"In  Rama,  weeping  and  great  mourning" — Joachim's 
bleating  lamb  slain — Woman's  supreme  hour — Maternity's 
crucifixion — "  The  Caesarian  Section" — The  ebbing-tide 
and  the  stranded  wreck,  at  midnight.  .  .  .  Page  595 

CHAPTER  XLII. — THE  MOTHER  OF  SORROWS  TRIUMPHANT 
AT  LAST. 

The  funeral  of  Miriamne — The  Hospitaler  tells  the  traditions 
of  Mary's  death  and  assumption — What  the  Druse  con 
vert  said  to  his  camel — "  The  beatings  of  mighty  wings  " 
— The  tomb  of  Miriamne  in  Gethsemane.  Page  6il 


Contents.  xxvii 

CHAPTER   XLIII. — A   COFFIN    FULL  OF  FLOWERS,  AND  A 
GIRDLE  WITH  WINGS. 

Cornelius  and  his  son  at  Bethany — Changed  scenes — Undei 
the  lights  and  shadows  of  Chemosh — A  widower's  grief — 
Azrael's  putative  son  razes  to  the  ground  Miriamne's 
home  and  temple — The  legend  of  Mary's  coffin  and  girdle 
— The  last  of  the  new  grail-knights — A  sad  and  dramatic 
tableau.  618 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


i. 

MARY  AND  THE  INFANT  JESUS,       -         -       Frontispiece 
(The  original  painted  by  GOODALL.) 

II. 

PAGE 

THE  BIRTH  OF  MARY      ......      6c 

(The  original  painted  by  MURILLO.) 

III. 
RIZPAH    DEFENDING    THE    DEAD    BODIES    OF    HER 

RELATIONS,  -     250 

(The  original  painted  by  BECKER.) 
IV. 

THE  EDUCATION  OF  MARY,     ...     282 

(The  original  painted  by  CARL  MULLER.) 

V. 

THE  MARRIAGE  OF  MARY  AND  JOSEPH,  -     294 

(The  original  painted  by  RAPHAEL.) 

VI. 

THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CROSS,  -  -     332 

(The  original  painted  by  MORRIS.) 

VII. 

JESUS  AT  THE  AGE  OF  TWELVE  WITH    MARY    AND 

JOSEPH  ON  THEIR  WAY  TO  JERUSALEM      -         -     350 
(The  original  painted  by  MENGELBURG.) 

VIII. 
THE  YOUTH  JESUS   YIELDING   TO   THE   WISHES   OF 

His  MOTHER,     -  -     366 

(The  original  painted  by  W.  HOLMAN  HUNT.) 

IX. 

THE  WEDDING  AT  CANA,  -        •    380 

(The  original  painted  by  PAUL  VERONESE.) 

X. 

MARY  AND  ST.  JOHN,      -  -     43  5 

(The  original  painted  by  PLOCKHORST.) 


THE 

QUEEN  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  DAVIP 


CHAPTER  I. 
THE  QUEEN'S  PORTRAIT. 

"  And  breaking  as  from  distant  gloom, 

A  face  comes  painted  on  the  air; 
A  presence  walks  the  haunted  room, 

Or  sits  within  the  vacant  chair. 
And  every  object  that  I  feel 

Seems  charged  by  some  enchanter's  wand, 
And  keen  the  dizzy  senses  thrill, 

As  with  the  touch  of  spirit  hand. 
A  form  beloved  comes  again, 

A  voice  beside  me  seems  to  start, 
While  eager  fancies  fill  the  brain, 

And  eager  passions  hold  the  heart." 


ASTER,  we  would  see  a  sign  from  Thee, 
was  the  cunning  challenge  of  the  Scribes 
and  Pharisees.  They  were  certain  that,  in 
this  at  least,  the  hearts  of  the  people 
would  be  with  them.  A  sign,  a  scene,  a  symbol,  were 
the  constant  demand  and  quest  of  the  olden  times,  as  of 
all  times.  Even  Jehovah  led  forth  to  victory  and  trust, 
as  necessity  was  upon  Him  in  leading  human  followers, 


30  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David, 

"  with  an  outstretched  arm,  and  with  signs  and  with  wor*. 
ders."  The  Jews,  seemingly  so  doubtful  and  so  quer 
ulous,  after  all  articulated  the  longings  of  the  universal 
humanity.  The  longing  stimulated  the  effort  to  gratify 
it,  and  forthwith  the  artist  became  the  teacher  of  the 
people.  Presentments  of  Mary,  as  she  might  have  been, 
and  as  she  was  imagined  to  have  been  by  those  most 
devout,  were  multiplied.  Piety  sought  to  express  its 
regard  for  her  by  making  her  more  real  to  faith  through 
the  instrumentality  of  the  speaking  canvas,  but  beyond 
this  there  was  the  desire  to  embody  certain  charms  and 
virtues  of  character  dear  to  all  pure  and  devout  ones. 
These  were  expressed  by  pictured  faces,  ideally  perfect. 
They  called  each  such  "  Mary  "  ;  and  if  there  had  never 
been  a  real  Mary,  still  these  handiworks  would  have  had 
no  small  value.  Who  can  say  that  those  consecrated 
artists  were  in  no  degree  moved  by  the  Spirit  which 
guided  David  when  "  he  opened  dark  sayings  on  the 
harp,"  and  rapturously  extolled  that  other  Beloved  of 
God,  the  Church  ?  Music  and  painting — twin  sisters — 
equal  in  merit,  and  both  from  Him  who  displays 
form,  color  and  harmony  as  among  the  chief  rewards 
and  glories  of  His  upper  kingdom.  These  also  meet  a 
want  in  human  nature  as  God  created  it.  The  artists 
did  not  beget  this  desire  for  presentments  through 
form  and  color  of  the  woman  deemed  most  blessed  ; 
the  desire  rather  begot  the  artists.  Stately  theology  has 
never  ceased  truly  to  proclaim  from  the  day  Christ  cried 
"  It  is  finished  !  "  that  "  in  Him  all  fullness  dwells  ;  "  but 
no  theology,  has  been  able  to  silence  the  cry  of  woman's 
heart  in  woman  and  woman's  nature  in  man  which 
pleads  through  the  long  years,  "S/ww  us  the  mother  and 


The  Queen  s  Portrait.  31 

it  sufficeth  us"     It  has  happened  sometimes  that  gross 
minds  have  strayed  from  the  ideal  or  spiritual  imports 
of  Mary's  life  and  fallen  into  idolizing  her  effigies.  That 
was  their  fault,  and  must  not  be  taken  as  full  proof  that 
nothing  but  evil   came    from    the  portrayings  of  our 
queen.     The    facts   are  conclusively  otherwise.      The 
painters  that  made  glorious  ideals  shine  forth  from  the 
canvas  unconsciously  painted  the  shadows  largely  out 
of  the  conditions  of  all  women.      Before  this  second 
advent  of  the  Virgin,   the   paganish   idea  that  women 
were  the  "  weaker  sex,"  the  inferiors  of  men,  at  best 
only    useful,      handsome     animals,     prevailed.       The 
renaissance  of  Mary,  as  the  ideal  woman,  was  an  event 
seeded    with    the    germs    of    revolutionary    impulses 
socially.     Like  sunrise  it  began   in  the  East,   at   first 
dimly  manifest,  then  it  became  effulgent   and  quickly 
coursed  westward  along  the  pathways  of  Christianity's 
conquests.     Like  sweet,  grateful  light  then  there  came 
to  the  hearts  of  men  the  braver  true  persuasion,  that 
the    woman    who    not    only  bore  the  Christ  but  won 
His  reverent  love  must   have    been  morally  beautiful 
and  great.     In  the  track  of  this  persuasion,  and  as  its 
sequence,    there    came    the    conviction   that    the  sex, 
of  which  Mary  was  one,  had  within  it  possibilities  be 
yond    what    its    sturdier    companions    had    dreamed. 
After  this  it  came  about  that  the  painters,   often  the 
interpreters  of  human  feelings,  began   to   represent  all 
goodness  under  the  form  of  a  Madonna.      Not  know 
ing  the  contour  of  Mary's  face  they  began  gathering 
here  and  there,  from  the  women  they  knew,  features  of 
beauty.     They  combined  these  in  one  harmonious  pre 
sentment.     They  set  out  to  represent  the  ideal  woman. 


32  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

but  had  to  go  to  women  to  find  her  parts.  It  became 
a  tribute  to  womankind  to  do  this.  It  was  like  a  voy 
age  of  discovery,  and  the  artist  voyagers  depicted  not 
only  the  best  things  in  womankind,  but  by  putting 
these  things  together  illustrated  what  woman  could  be 
and  should  be  at  her  best. 

It  was  thus  that  Guido  produced  a  picture  of  the 
Madonna  which  enravished  all  that  beheld  it.  Once 
he  had  said,  "  I  wish  I'd  the  wings  of  an  angel  to 
behold  the  beatified  spirits,  which  I  might  have 
copied."  After,  here  and  there,  he  picked  out  frag 
ments  of  color  and  form  on  earth  ;  then  put  them  into 
one  ideal  composition.  It  was  a  heart-expanding 
work  ;  the  work  of  a  prophet,  since  it  told  of  what 
might  be  in  woman  wholly  at  her  best.  Then  he  said, 
"the  beautiful  and  pure  idea  must  be  in  the  head  "  of 
the  artist.  It  was  a  deep  saying.  Given  the  ideal, 
and  the  worker  will  need  only  proper  ambition  to  pre 
sent  a  grand  composition,  whether  on  canvas  or  in  the 
patterningsof  the  inner  life.  The  presentments  of  the 
Virgin  rose  in  fineness  when  priests  turned  from  their 
exegesis  to  kneel  and  paint  for  men.  The  great  Saint 
Augustine,  held  in  high  honor  by  Christians  of  every 
name,  redeemed  from  a  youth  of  darkest  sinning, 
revered  as  his  guiding  star  two  lovely  women,  Monica, 
his  mother,  and  Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus.  He 
argues,  in  stalwart  polemics,  that  through  the  acknowl 
edgment  of  Mary's  pre-eminence  all  womankind  was 
elevated.  Her  presentment,  so  as  to  be  fully  compre 
hended,  was  in  the  beginning  a  blessing  to  every  soul 
in  being  an  inspiration  to  purer,  sweeter  living.  So 
far  as  such  presentment  now  conserves  the  same 


The  Queen  s  Portrait.  33 

results  the  work  is  worthy  and  profitable.  In  all 
times  the  representations  of  the  Virgin,  whether  by 
the  historian  or  the  master  of  the  studio,  varied  ;  but 
the  piety  they  awakened  always  seemed  to  be  of  one 
type,  and  that  lofty.  Thus  we  have  "  the  stern,  awful 
quietude  of  the  old  Mosaics,  the  hard  lifelessness  of 
the  degenerate  Greeks,  the  pensive  sentiment  of  the 
Siena,  the  stately  elegance  of  the  Florentine  Madon 
nas,  the  intellectual  Milanese,  with  their  large  fore 
heads  and  thoughtful  eyes,  the  tender,  refined  mysti 
cism  of  the  Umbrian,  the  sumptuous  loveliness  of 
the  Venetian  ;  the  quaint,  characteristic  simplicity  of 
the  early  German,  so  stamped  with  their  nationality 
that  I  never  looked  round  me  in  a  room  full  of  Ger 
man  girls  without  thinking  of  Albert  Durer's  Virgins; 
the  intense,  life-like  feeling  of  the  Spanish,  the  prosaic, 
portrait-like  nature  of  the  Flemish  schools,  and  so  on." 
Each  time  and  place  produced  its  own  ideal,  but  all 
tried  to  express  the  one  thought  uppermost  ;  pious 
regard  for  the  Queen  and  model.  All  seemed  to  feel 
that  in  this  devotion  there  was  somehow  comfort  and 
exaltation — and  there  generally  were  both. 

The  writer  of  the  foregoing  quotation,  a  woman  of 
widest  culture  and  admirable  good  sense,  attested  the 
need  that  many  feel  by  her  own  rapturous  description 
of  the  Madonna  of  Raphael  in  the  Dresden  Gallery. 
"  I  have  seen  my  own  ideal  once  where  Raphael — • 
inspired,  if  ever  painter  was  inspired — projected  on 
the  space  before  him  that  wonderful  creation." 
"There  she  stands,  the  transfigured  woman;  at  once 
completely  human  and  completely  divine  ,  an  abstrac 
tion  of  power,  purity  and  love;  poised  on  the 


34  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

empurpled  air,  and  requiring  no  other  support; 
with  melancholy,  loving  mouth,  her  slightly  dilated 
sibylline  eyes  looking  out  quite  through  the  universe 
to  the  end  and  consummation  of  all  things;  sad,  as  if 
she  beheld  afar  off  the  visionary  sword  that  was  to 
reach  her  heart  through  HIM,  now  resting  as  enthroned 
on  that  heart  ;  yet  already  exalted  through  the  hom 
age  of  the  redeemed  generations  who  were  to  salute 
her  as  blessed.  Is  it  so  indeed?  Is  she  so  divine?  or 
does  not  rather  the  imagination  lend  a  grace  that  is 
not  there?  I  have  stood  before  it  and  confessed  that 
there  is  more  in  that  form  and  face  than  I  have  ever 
yet  conceived.  The  Madonna  di  San  Sisto  is  an 
abstract  of  all  the  attributes  of  Mary." 

The  foregoing  representation  marked  a  step  forward 
in  things  spiritual.  Before  Raphael,  painters  number 
less,  under  the  influence  of  the  luxurious  and  vicious 
Medici,  had  filled  the  churches  of  Florence  with  painted 
presentments  of  the  Virgin,  characterized  by  an  allur 
ing  beauty  which  seemed  next  door  to  blasphemy. 
Then  came  that  Luther  of  his  times,  Savonarola.  He 
thundered  for  purity,  simplicity  and  reform  ;  aiming 
his  blows  at  the  depraving,  sensuous  conceptions  of 
the  grosser  artists.  He  made  a  bonfire  in  the  Piazza 
of  Florence,  there  consuming  these  false  madonnas. 
He  was,  for  this,  persecuted  to  death  by  the  Borgia 
family.  They  could  not  bear  his  trumpet  call  to  Flor 
entines,  "  Your  sins  make  me  a  prophet  ;  I  have  been  a 
Jonah  warning  Nineveh  ;  I  shall  be  a  Jeremiah  weep 
ing  over  the  ruins  ;  for  God  will  renew  His  church  and 
that  will  not  take  place  without  blood — '  Art  heard 
his  voice,  the  painters  became  disgusted  with  their 


The  Queen  s  Portrait.  35 

meaner  handiwork,  the  rude,  the  obscene,  the  mis 
chievous  was  obliterated ;  finer,  more  spiritual  and 
loftier  concepts  of  the  Virgin  appeared  as  proof  of  a 
reformation  of  morals.  And  Raphael,  later  on,  seeing 
these  productions,  felt  the  influence  that  begot  them, 
and  then  produced  that  masterpiece.  Tradition  says 
Saint  Luke  painted  a  picture  of  the  Virgin  from  life. 
The  picture,  reputed  to  have  been  so  painted,  was 
found  by  the  Turks  in  Constantinople  when  that  city 
fell  into  their  conquering  hands.  They  despoiled  it  of 
its  princely  jewel-decorations,  then  tramped  it  con 
temptuously  beneath  their  feet.  The  latter  act  was 
typical,  and  the  Turk  still  lives  to  trample  in  contempt 
on  honest  efforts  to  portray  with  amplitude  and  fin 
ished  details  this  splendid  character,  whose  outlines 
alone  are  presented  by  the  Gospels.  But  though  the 
Vandal  spirit  survives,  there  survives  also  the  strong 
yearning  for  the  representation  of  that  woman  beyond 
compare,  and  some  will  still  revel  amid  the  ideals  of 
painters,  and  some  will  be  gladdened  still  more  by 
truth's  complete  presentment  which  words  alone  can 
make. 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   PILGRIM,   CRUSADER  AND  VIRGIBL 

"  There  is  a  fire — 

And  motion  of  the  soul  which  will  not  dwell. 
In  its  own  narrow  being,  but  aspire 
Beyond  the  fitting  medium  of  desire  ; 
And  but  once  kindled,  quenchless  ever  more, 
Preys  upon  high  adventure,  nor  can  tire 
Of  aught  but  rest." 

—"CJnlde  Harold: 


HERE  is  something  very  fascinating  about 
the  contemplation  of  life  as  a  continuous 
pilgrimage,  and  the  fascination  grows  on 
one  as  the  conviction  of  the  truth  of  the 
conception  is  deepened  by  study  of  it.  The  course  of 
our  race  has  been  a  series  of  processions  from  continent 
to  continent,  from  age  to  age,  from  barbarism  to  refine 
ment,  from  darkness  toward  light.  Whether  measuring 
the  little  arcs  of  individuals  from  birth  to  dust,  or  follow 
ing  along  the  mighty  marches  of  our  universe  with  all 
its  grouping  hosts  of  whirling  constellations,  we  have 
before  us  ever  this  constant  truth  ;  man  moves  will 
ingly  or  unwillingly  onward,  as  a  pilgrim  amid  pil 
grims.  "  Move  on "  is  the  constant  mandate  and 
necessity  of  being.  Man's  course  is  mapped  ; 
onward  from  the  swaddling  clothes  to  the  shroud,  from 


The  Pilgrim,   Crusader  and  Virgin.  37 

life  to  dust  ;  then  onward  again  ;  while  all  the  mighty 
planet  fleets  of  which  the  earth-ship  is  but  one,  move 
along  their  courses,  over  trackless  oceans,  toward  des 
tinations,  all  unknown,  yet  concededly  in  a  grand  as 
well  as  in  an  inexorable  pilgrimage.  Partly  because 
the  motions  of  his  earth-ship  makes  nim  restless,  partly 
because  he  is  a  being  that  hopes  and  so  comes  to  try 
to  find  by  distant  quests  hope's  fruitions,  and  more 
largely  because  he  is  of  a  religious  nature,  which 
impels  him  to  seek  things  beyond  himself,  the  man 
becomes  a  pilgrim.  He  that  is  content  as  and  where 
he  is,  always,  is  regarded  as  a  fool  playing  with  the 
toys  of  a  child,  by  wise  men  ;  by  religionists,  lack  of 
holy  restlessness  is  ever  adjudged  to  be  a.  sign  of 
depravity.  Hence  almost  all  religions,  whether  false 
or  true,  have  given  birth  to  the  pilgrim  spirit.  The 
zeal  to  express  and  to  utilize  this  spirit  has  been 
often  pitiful  to  behold.  Multitudes,  failing  to  grasp 
the  fact  that  life  itself  is  a  pilgrimage,  have  invented 
other  pilgrimages  and  gone  aside  to  useless,  needless 
miseries.  But  all  the  time  they  attested  human 
nature  seeking  something  beyond  itself,  better  than 
its  present.  So  the  tribes  that  lived  in  the  lowlands 
nourished  traditions  of  descent  from  gods  or  ances 
tors  who.  abode  on  the  mountains,  and  they  inaugu 
rated  pilgrimages  to  seek  inspiration  or  a  golden 
age  "on  high  places,  faraway."  The  chosen  people 
of  God  thus  constantly  were  allured  from  the  worship 
of  the  Everywhere  and  One  Jehovah  by  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  heathen  devotees  who  flocked  to  the  mountain 
fanes.  Turn  which  way  one  will  in  the  night  of  the 
ages  and  the  spectacle  of  the  pilgrim  is  before  him. 


38  The   Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

Ancient  Hinduism,  followed  by  that  of  to-day,  with 
nessed,  witnesses  annually,  pilgrims  counted  by  hun 
dreds  of  thousands  to  the  temple  of  murderous  Jugger 
naut,  the  Ganga  Sagor,  or  isle  of  Sacred  Ganges.  The 
Buddhists  journey  to  Adam's  Peak  in  Ceylon,  and  the 
Lamaists  of  Thibet  travel  adoringly  to  their  Lha-Isa; 
the  Japanese  have  their  pilgrim  shrines  amid  perilous 
approaches  at  Istje,  while  the  Chinese,  who  claim  to 
be  sons  of  the  mountains,  clamber  with  naked  knees 
the  rugged  sides  of  Kicou-hou-chan.  The  pilgrimages 
of  the  Jews  occupy  many  chapters  of  Holy  Writ,  for  all 
their  ancient  worthies  "  not  having  received  the  promises, 
but  seeing  them  afar  off  *  *  confessed  that  they  vvere 
pilgrims  and  strangers."  Christ  confronted  the  pilgrim 
spirit  perverted  in  the  person  of  the  woman  of  Samaria, 
at  the  eastern  foot  of  Gerezim.  She  and  her  people 
rested  their  hopes  in  pilgrimages  to  their  supposed 
to  be  sacred  places,  but  the  Saviour  declared  to  her  by 
Jacob's  well,  truths,  both  grand  and  revolutionary,  in 
these  words  :  "The  hour  *  *  now  is  when  the  true 
worshiper  shall  worship  the  Father  in  spirit  *  *  *  not 
in  this  mountain  nor  in  Jerusalem."  "  Go  call  thy  hus 
band  and  come  hither.  Whosoever  drinketh  the  water 
I  shall  give  shall  never  thirst."  There  were  volumes 
in  the  golden  sentences  and  they  plainly  said  no  need 
to  travel  far  to  find  the  Everywhere  God  Who  ever 
comes  where  men  are  to  satisfy  their  every  thirst.  "  Go 
call  thy  husband."  Go  to  thy  home  and  find  the  water 
of  life  through  doing  God's  will  ;  it  is  better  to  be  a 
missionary  than  a  pilgrim  unless  the  pilgrim  be  also 
missioner.  But  the  truths  of  that  hour  have  found 
tardy  acceptance  among  many.  The  children  of 


The  Pilgrim,  Crusader  and  Virgin.  39 

Jacob  are  pilgrims  throughout  the  earth,  and  the  dis 
ciples  of  Christ,  since  His  departure,  have  gone  pii. 
griming  often,  as  did  their  fathers  before  them.  Con- 
stantine,  the  Roman  emperor,  and  his  mother,  Helena, 
by  example  and  precept,  urged  Christendom  to 
re-embark  in  such  pious  journeys,  and  at  the  end  of 
the  first  thousand  years  of  its  existence,  Christianity 
had  hosts  of  disciples  actuated  by  the  same  old 
passion  that  sent  religionists  everywhere  to  seek 
shrines,  fanes  and  blessings.  Then  the  belief  began 
to  be  held  everywhere  among  Christians  that  the 
milennial  period  was  at  hand.  Multitudes  abandoned 
friends,  sold  or  gave  away  their  possessions,  and 
hastened  toward  the  Holy  Land,  where  they  believed 
Jesus  Christ  was  to  appear  to  judge  the  world.  Here 
two  pilgrim  tides,  utterly  opposed  to  each  other,  met  ; 
the  Christian  and  the  Mohammedan.  The  followers  of 
the  False  Prophet,  like  other  men,  were  imbued  with 
the  pilgrim  spirit.  Some  of  these  thought  perfection 
could  be  attained  only  within  the  precincts  of  Babylon 
or  Bagdad,  and  others  sincerely  believed  that  they 
could  find  peculiar  nearness  to  heaven  about  the  stone 
walled  Kaaba  of  Mecca.  It  was  held  to  be  not  only  a 
privilege  but  a  duty,  incumbent  upon  all,  to  take  these 
religious  journeys;  hence  men  and  women,  young  and 
old,  undertook  them.  Even  the  decrepit  were  under 
the  obligation,  and  they  must  either  undertake  the  work, 
though  failure  by  death  were  certain,  or  hire  a  proxy  to 
go  in  their  behalf.  So  was  rolled  up  stupendously  the 
numbers  of  pilgrim  graves  which  have  marked  this  earth 
of  ours.  The  Christian  pilgrims  for  a  time  thronged 
toward  Palestine,  first  as  a  small  stream,  then  as 


40  'I  lie  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

a  torrent.  Europe  at  large  was  aroused,  and  all  im. 
pulses  converged  toward  the  Holy  Sepulcher.  The 
soldiers  of  the  Cross  soon  added  swords  to  their  equip, 
ments  ;  the  flashing  of  spears  outshone  the  altar  lights, 
and  almost  before  they  realized  it  the  priests  and  pious 
pilgrims  were  transformed  to  mailed  knights.  There 
was  a  root  to  the  impulse,  and  that  the  universally 
felt  need  of  ideals,  patterns,  personages  of  heroic  mold 
in  all  goodness,  to  show  men  how  to  live.  The  pil 
grims  turned  their  eyes  to  the  worthies  of  the  past,  and 
soon  came  to  believe  that  they  could  best  imbibe  their 
spirit  amid  their  tombs  and  former  abodes.  Like 
most  religionists  they  grew  to  believe  God  their 
especial  friend,  and  they  therefore  soon  came  to  feel 
that,  against  all  odds,  He  would  help  them  to  victory. 
Then  they  easily  grew  to  believe  that  death  in  their 
crusades  would  merit  the  martyr's  crown.  Their  cour 
age  was  unbounded,  for  many  went  out  with  a  passion 
to  die  in  the  cause  they  had  embraced.  The  following 
crusades  were  marked  by  conflicts  between  Moslem 
and  Christian,  filled  with  fanatical  and  merciless  fury, 
though  both  the  opposing  hosts  claimed  to  be  doing 
all  they  did  in  God's  name  and  under  his  especial  di 
rection.  "  Deus  vutt,"  "  God  wills  it,"  was  the  war-cry 
of  a  mighty  army,  each  of  which  bore  on  his  banner  and 
on  his  breast  the  sign  of  the  Cross,  the  emblem  eter 
nally  exalted  by  the  Prince  of  Peace,  who  willingly  died 
that  others  might  live ;  but  these  soldiers  were  bent  on 
slaying  those  they  could  not  convert.  They  were  in  a 
transitional  state,  passing  from  being  pilgrims  to  being 
missionaries,  but  the  course  was  a  bloody  one.  They 
promoted  their  self-complacency  by  persuading  them- 


The  Pilgrim,  Crusader  and  Virgin.  41 

selves  that  it  was  a  heaven-offending  wrong  to  continue 
to  suffer  heretics  to  occupy  the  places  made  sacred  by 
the  Saviour  when  in  the  world.  Then  multitudes  of 
Christian  priests  taught  that  the  pious  needed  free  course 
to  visit  the  holy  places  of  the  East,  that  they  might  up 
build  their  faith  and  their  grasp  of  theological  abstrac 
tions  by  beholding  objects  associated  with  the  tenets 
they  had  adopted.  The  Moslems  had  no  interest  in 
these  proceedings  beyond  a  desire  to  thwart  them. 
The  Christians,  to  be  sure,  had  the  moral  disadvantage 
of  being  invaders,  but  then  censure  of  them  is  mitigated 
by  the  fact  that  Syria  was  stolen  property  to  the  Turk. 
The  latter  held  it  by  the  stern  title  deed  of  the  sword. 
The  reader  of  this  summary  will  be  chiefly  advan 
taged  by  remembering  that  this  conflict  was  one  of 
the  mightiest  efforts  in  the  direction  of  missionary 
work  everattempted  by  man,  and  that  being  attempted 
by  force  it  failed  utterly.  Now  the  Crusaders  were 
believers  in  Christ  and  devoted  to  Mary.  These 
facts  awaken  questions  as  to  how,  since  the  spirits  of 
these  twain  are  finally  to  conquer  all  hearts,  their 
champions  were  so  defeated  ?  The  Crusaders  desired  to 
pro  note  the  glory  of  the  Man  of  men  and  the  woman 
of  women,  but  sought  it  by  aims  only  weakly  worthy, 
and  means  often  atrocious.  It  never  matters  to  Christ's 
kingdom  who  possesses  His  grave  if  He  only  possesses 
all  hearts.  The  Crusaders,  beginning  with  a  warm 
sentiment  of  respect  for  the  Virgin,  suffered  their 
sentimentality  to  run  mad,  and  mad  sentiment  is  ripe 
for  folly  and  defilement.  An  opal,  they  say,  will 
change  its  color  when  its  wearer  is  sick;  so  a  man 
wearing  a  priceless  virtue  on  the  sleeve  of  his  creed. 


42  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

will  find  its  luster  bedimmed  when  evil  sickens  his 
heart.  The  Crusaders  had  grand  banners,  mottoes,  war- 
cries  and  ideals,  but  they  did  not  know  how  to  hon 
estly  and  truly  apply  them.  Their  efforts  and  results 
well  serve  to  emphasize  the  truth  that  moral  ad 
vances  are  made  with  grander  forces  than  those  of  the 
sword  ;  that  in  the  end  the  heroes  and  heroines  of  the 
world's  regeneration  will  appear  potent  and  regnant 
solely  in  the  sweetness,  truth  and  exaltation  of  per 
sonal  character.  Crusader  and  Moslem,  at  heart,  were 
each  desirous  of  making  the  world  better,  but  they  each, 
in  fact  for  a  time  made  it  fearfully  worse.  Probably 
the  followers  of  the  Cross  and  the  followers  of  the 
Crescent  would  have  been  glad  to  have  bestowed  all 
kindness  each  on  the  other,  if  only  the  one  would  have 
accepted  the  creed  of  the  other.  But  the  humanity 
und  charity  of  each  were  as  to  the  other  eclipsed 
utterly  by  a  zeal  for  theories.  There  was  need  to  both 
that  there  arise  a  harmonizing  ideal.  It  would  seem 
as  if  Providence  suffered  these  opposing  pilgrims  to 
peel  each  other  until  each  in  sheer  disgust  was  driven 
to  seek  some  better  way.  An  able  historian  affirms 
that  the  Crusades  did  not  "change  the  fate  of  a  single 
dynasty,  nor  the  boundaries  and  relative  strength  of  a 
nation  " — but  they  did  leave  a  history,  the  contempla 
tion  of  which  affords  rare  thought-food.  The  conflict 
ended  in  the  utter  route  and  flight  of  the  Christians. 
The  tragedy  ended  at  Acre,  but  there  were  left  some 
things  that  took  shape  in  mens'  thinking,  and  the  world 
was  made  thereby  better.  The  populations  and  pro 
perties  of  Christain  Europe  had  been  squandered  to  a 
startling  degree  in  these  religious  wars,  and  it  was  fit- 


The  Pilgrim,  Crusader  and  Virgin.  4/5 

ting  that  there  be  some  return  to  compensate.  The  re- 
suit  of  all  others,  that  grew  out  of  the  Crusades,  and  was 
indeed  also  a  leading  cause  of  their  vigor,  was  the  rising 
of  the  spirit  of  chivalry.  The  dawn  of  chivalry  first  begat 
brave  fighting,  but  in  time  the  chivalrous  discovered 
a  theater  for  their  activity  amid  the  amenities  of  peace. 
Chivalry  was  a  rebound  from  the  rugged,  barbarous  be 
lief  of  the  semi-civilized,  whose  trust  was  in  brute  force 
and  whose  constant  dictum  was,  "  Might  makes  right." 
Men  became  impressed  with  a  spirit  of  tenderness,  and, 
little  by  little  the  duty  and  beauty  of  the  strong's  helping 
the  weak  dawned  upon  humanity.  To  be  chivalrous, 
by  the  unwritten  laws  of  custom,  became  the  obligation 
of  every  man  who  sought  popular  respect.  Chivalry  was 
in  the  creed  of  the  noble  and  brave,  and  men  delighted 
to  become  the  companions  of  lone  pilgrims,  patrons  of 
beggars,  protectors  of  children  and  defenders  of  women. 
Toward  the  gentler  sex,  the  spirit  of  chivalry  finely 
expressed  itself  by  not  only  defending  helpless  females 
amid  physical  perils,  but  by  according  to  woman 
kind  distinguished  courtesy,  refined  politeness,  and 
all  those  proper  respects  that  so  appropriately  garnish 
and  ornament  the  social  intercourse  of  the  sexes  in  pro 
perly  cultivated  societies.  Before  the  advent  of  this 
chivalric  time,  women  had  been  deemed  as  generally 
every  way  inferior  to  men  ;  chiefly  desirable  as  minis 
ters  to  the  necessities  or  appetites  of  their  lords  ;  useful 
as  mothers,  but  worthy  of  very  little  respect,  confi 
dence  or  lasting  admiration.  The  dawn  of  this  new 
and  fine  gallantry  was  a  step  toward  woman's  disin- 
thrallment.  Chivalry  tried  to  express  itself  in  the 
Crusades ;  defeated,  its  ardor  still  burned,  and  Europe 


44  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

felt  its  beneficent  glow  long  after  the  conflict  for  Syrian 
sepulchers  had  ceased.  And  here  it  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  that  the  reader  forget  not  the  key  fact, 
that  before  the  advent  of  the  attractive  spirit  of  chiv 
alry,  men's  minds  in  Christian  communities  were  pro 
foundly  penetrated  and  wondrously  incited  by  a  deep 
and  new  regard  for  the  Queenly  woman  Mary,  the 
mother  of  Jesus  !  She  had  been  almost  rediscovered. 
By  a  common  consent,  Christian  pulpits  had  begun 
sounding  her  praises,  as  the  ideal  woman;  a  woman 
worthy  of  the  veneration  and  emulation  of  all.  The 
various  religious  communities  vied  with  each  other  in 
doing  her  honor.  The  Cistercians  declared  her  purity 
by  wearing  white,  the  Servi  wore  black  to  commem 
orate  her  touching  sorrows,  and  other  bodies  elected  as 
their  distinguishing  badges,  various  garbs  or  signs 
solely  to  proclaim  their  allegiance  to  their  ideal 
woman.  A  popular  moral  coronation  of  Mary  resulted. 
The  Crusaders  outran  all  others  in  their  adulation  of, 
and  committal  to,  the  wondrous  woman.  They  were 
the  first  to  call  her  "  Our  Lady."  She  was  THE  Lady 
of  the  hearts  of  all.  These  chivalrous  soldiers  to  her 
spoke  their  pious  vows,  from  her  besought  holy  favors, 
and  in  her  name,  with  sacred  oaths,  committed  their 
all  to  effort  to  wrest  all  Palestine  from  the  enemies  of 
Mary's  Son.*  Now  these  millions  of  men  were  not 
mad,  nor  in  pursuit  of  a  phantom.  It  was  all  very  real 
to  them.  They  desired  to  express  a  long  pent-up  nat 
ural  feeling,  and  they  found  an  object  all  satisfactory 
in  Mary.  The  Crusaders  returned  finally  and  for 
good  from  battling  with  Moslem ;  they  returned 

*  Jamison. 


The  Pilgrim,  Crusader  and  Virgin.  45 

thoroughly,  disastrously  defeated  :  but  with  their 
love  for  Mary  all  aglow.  When  they  first  called  her 
"  Our  Lady,"  there  may  have  been  an  admixture  of 
irreverence  and  dilettante  in  the  thought  of  many; 
they  were  purged  of  these  in  the  hurricane  of  battle 
and  in  the  terrors  of  that  inhospitable  land  of  their 
pilgrimages.  Amid  trials,  far  away  from  his  home, 
often  in  severe  want,  frequently  confronting  slavery 
and  death,  the  Christian  knight  while  adding  "  Ave 
Marie  "  to  his  "  Patre  Nostre"  learned  to  think  of  the 
Madonna  as  his  mother.  Missing  the  latter  keenly, 
worshiping  the  other  unfeignedly,  woman  took  a  high 
throne  in  his  esteem.  Sword  conquest  began  to  seem 
to  the  war-wearied  soldier  very  insignificant  as  com 
pared  to  a  ministry  of  comfort,  peace  and  good  will. 
The  defeated  Crusaders  returned  to  scatter  through  all 
Europe  a  new  gospel  of  humanity.  They  exalted  the 
Queen  of  David's  line  and  forgot  to  recount  the  for 
tunes  of  war  in  the  East  in  expounding  the  dawning 
beauties  of  the  woman  that  entranced  them  and  the 
queenship  this  ideal  had  gained  over  their  minds.  So 
they  prepared  multitudes  of  the  sterner  sex  for  a  last 
ing  belief  in  the  worthfulness  of  true  womanhood  at 
its  best.  The  Christian  world  was  ripe  for  such  a 
revival,  when  the  priests  began  to  thunder  "  On  to 
Jerusalem ! "  but  men  needed  not  so  much  war  as 
conversion;  not  so  much  relics  and  tombs  as  loving 
principles  exemplified.  It  is  wonderful  how  conver 
sion  womanizes  some  men.  That  is  a  triumph  of  the 
spiritual  over  the  sensual,  the  beautiful  over  the  gross. 
It  will  make  a  man  of  brutal,  selfish  fiber,  in  time,  as 
tender  as  a  mother  toward  her  child  and  as  self-deny- 


46  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

ing  as  a  maid  toward  her  lover.  The  Crusaders  started 
out  to  rescue  the  tomb  of  the  dead  Saviour  from  un 
believers  and  failed,  but  they  returned  to  herald  the 
rennaissance  of  Mary,  the  disenslaving  of  woman ; 
to  call  the  state,  the  home  and  individuals  to  all  the 
refinements  which  the  exaltation  of  such  an  ideal  of 
necessity  offered.  Toward  this  advening  the  rising 
spirit  of  chivalry  was  bending  the  finest  hearts  when 
the  clarions  of  war,  sounded  from  altar  and  baptistry, 
summoned  all  to  raise  the  red  banner  against  the 
Moslem.  Right  here  it  is  worthy  of  notice  that  God's 
providence  presented  other,  though  allied,  principles  in 
the  conflict  against  the  Orientals.  Two  pilgrim  hosts, 
thinking  to  choose  their  own  ways,  were  wisely  led  to 
better  goals  than  they  knew.  The  Turk  presented  the 
throng  of  the  harem  as  his  family;  the  Christian  was 
committed  to  the  union  of  only  two  in  holy  wedlock. 
One  party  presented  a  banner  with  a  Cross,  forever  the 
emblem  of  self-sacrifice ;  the  other  the  Crescent, 
emblem  of  youthfulness  increasing,  a  hint  ever  of  the 
hope  of  endless  lust,  whether  borne  of  the  master  of  a 
harem  or  by  the  heathen  follower  of  the  ancient  moon- 
horned  Astarte.  The  last  at  Acre,  by  the  Syrian  bor 
der  of  the  Mediterranean  Sea,  the  Saracen  hugged 
victory  and  the  Cross-bearers  were  utterly  routed.  So 
reads  human  history,  but  in  truth  the  defeat  was  only 
apparent  and  local.  The  followers  of  the  Crescent, 
holding  the  creed  of  lust  and  making  pleasure  of  sense 
their  end  came  surely  toward  their  destruction  when  suc 
cesses  encouraged  them  in  their  courses  ;  the  followers 
of  the  Cross,  on  the  other  hand,  had  within  some 
germs  of  truth,  life-giving  in  themselves  and  toobeauti- 


Fhe  Pilgrim,  Crusader  and  Virgin.  47 

ful  to  be  suffered  to  die  from  the  earth.  Trial  and  defeat 
watered  these  germs  and  the  knightly  hosts  returned 
to  Europe  by  thousands  to  proclaim  finer  doctrines 
than  those  by  which  the  priest  had  incited  them  to 
war.  The  returning  soldiers  were  transformed  from 
pilgrims  to  missionaries,  from  being  taught  to  teach 
ing,  from  restorers  of  Palestine's  graves  to  restorers  of 
European  society.  Of  the  "  Teutonic  Knights  of  Saint 
Mary,"  a  fine  and  representative  order,  an  impartial 
historian  writes:  "  They  defended  Christianity  against 
the  barbarians  of  Eastern  Europe."  "After  many 
bloody  encounters  introduced  German  manners,  lan 
guage  and  morals."  Of  the  Knighthood,  as  a  whole, 
says  another,  "  the  institution  that  could  breed  such 
characters  as  these,  obviously  rendered  an  enduring  ser 
vice  to  humanity.  Itsspirit  lives  on,  offering  examples 
which  the  young  still  welcome  in  their  joyous,  dreamy 
days.  The  ideal  still  remains,  purified  by  time,  freed 
from  its  frailties,  and  aids  in  fashioning  modern  senti 
ment  to  the  conception  and  admiration  of  the  Chris 
t'an  gentleman." 


CHAPTER  III. 

ARMAGEDDON  ,    THE  KEY  AND   SICKLE. 

"From  the  moist  regions  of  the  western  star, 
The  wandering  hermits  wake  the  storm  of  war; 
Their  limbs  all  iron,  their  souls  all  flame ; 
A  countless  host  the  Red  Cross  warriors  came." 

— REGINALD  MEBER. 


IS  a  traveler  climbs  the  mountain  to  see  the 
sunrise,  so  he  that  would  overlook  the  past 
or  present  must  needs  clamber  to  some 
lofty  point  of  vision  in  a  significant  era  or 
historic  location.  There  are  two  plains  in  Syria  ;  one 
lying  along  the  Mediterranean,  the  other  jutting  out 
from  the  base  of  the  former  toward  Jordan  ;  the  two 
together,  in  shape  very  like  a  sickle,  have  witnessed 
events  wonderfully  instructive  and  determinate  to  the 
student  of  the  philosophy  of  time's  course.  These 
two  plains  are  known  respectively  as  Esdraelon  and 
Acre.  The  sea  and  the  mountains  give  these  plains 
their  sickle  shape,  and  the  geographical  outlines  are 
constantly  suggestively  before  the  mind  as  one  remem 
bers  these  plateaus  not  only  as  the  highways  but  the 
battle-fields  of  the  ancient  nations.  For  while,  as  one 
says,  "  the  face  of  nature  smiles  " — "  no  spot  on  earth 
more  fertile,"  he  also  says  "no  field  on  earth  was  so 


Armageddon  ;  :Jie  Key  and  Sickle.  49 

fattened  by  the  blood  of  the  slain."  There  the  Philis 
tines,  the  Ptolemys,  Antipchus,  the  Maccabees,  Herod, 
Baldwin,  King  of  Jerusalem,  Salah-ed-din,  Cceur-de- 
Lion,  Melek-Seruf  and  Napoleon,  each  in  turn,  put 
their  ambitions  and  their  beliefs  to  the  stern  arbitra 
ment  of  swords.  There  the  kingdom  of  the  House  of 
David  struggled  for  life  ;  there  the  splendid  dream  of 
the  Crusaders  ended  as  a  nightmare. 

As  a  jewel  in  the  haft  of  the  sickle,  at  the  northerly 
end  of  the  plain  by  the  sea,  sits  the  city  of  Acre.  This 
city  compels  the  attention  of  the  preacher  and  student 
of  history  and  gives  theme  to  him  who  blends  symbol 
into  song.  Acre  gave  its  name  to  its  adjacent  country 
round  about,  and  though  both  city  and  plain  witnessed 
many  a  change  of  master  in  the  past,  those  changing 
masters,  to  gratify  their  whims  or  strengthen  their 
policies  from  time  to  time,  giving  the  places  various 
names.  The  Knights  of  Saint  John  made  it  their  elect 
city,  honoring  it  as  Saint  Jean  de  Acre,  the  martyr  maid 
of  France.  From  the  city  itself  one  may  look  out  over 
the  sea-highway  of  natious ;  from  the  drear  and  lofty 
mountains  of  its  surrounding  country  one  may  look 
over  many  memorable  places.  Acre  was  often  called 
the  "  Key  of  Palestine  "  by  the  soldier  strategists  and 
by  the  chroniclers  of  events.  To  their  testimony  is 
added  that  of  the  inspired  writers  and  prophets  who 
made  it  their  key  and  mountain  of  outlook  frequently. 

These  plains,  dotted  all  about  by  sacred  places, 
memorable  for  two  great  victories  ;  Barak  over  the 
Canaanites  and  Gideon  over  the  Midianites  ;  and  two 


50  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

great  disasters,  the  death  of  Saul  and  the  death  of 
Josiah,  became  to  the  Jews  the  symbol  of  the  conflict 
of  right  and  wrong.  Prophetically,  and  in  the  serene 
hope  that  righteousness  at  last  would  prevail,  the  plain 
was  called  Armageddon,  "the  Mountain  of  the  Gos 
pel."  We  hear  the  rapt  Zechariah  thus  descanting: 
"  The  Lord  also  shall  save  the  glory  of  the  house  of 
David  and  the  house  of  Davad  shall  be  as  God."  "  And 
it  shall  come  to  pass  in  that  day,  that  I  will  seek  to 
destroy  all  the  nations  that  come  against  Jerusalem. 
And  I  will  pour  upon  the  house  of  David,  and  upon  the 
inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  the  spirit  of  grace  and  of  sup 
plications;  and  they  shall  look  upon  me  whom  they 
have  pierced,  and  they  shall  mourn  for  him,  as  one 
mourneth  for  his  only  son,  and  shall  be  in  bitterness  for 
him,  as  one  that  is  in  bitterness  for  his  first-born." 

The  prophet  looked  forth  to  the  Pentecostal  day  of 
salvation  and  the  assured  victories  of  David's  great 
successor.  Following  this  ancient  seer,  John  the  be 
loved,  in  the  Visions  of  the  Apocalypse  repeats,  these 
oracles.  During  the  wars  of  the  Crusaders,  Acre  was 
sometimes  in  their  possession  and  sometimes  held  by 
their  Turkish  foes.  In  the  year  1191  Richard  the  Lion 
Heart  wrested  it  from  the  infidel  leader  Salah-ed-din. 
The  Christians  held  it  firmly  until  129',  the  time  when 
the  last  wave  of  the  Crusader  advance  ebbed,  in  bloody 
defeat,  from  the  shores  of  the  Holy  Land.  For  two 
hundred  years  the  believer  of  the  West  and  the  Moslem 
grappled  with  each  other  in  deadly  conflict  ;  war's  for 
tunes  often  changing,  but  the  awful  price  in  human 
misery  and  human  blood  was  inexorably  exacted  at 
•very  stage  of  the  conflict.  Acre  was  the  focus  toward 


Armageddon;  the  Key  and  Sickls.  51 

which  the  eddying  tides  ever  and  anon  moved;  therefore 
it  saw  not  only  the  end  but  the  worst  of  the  Crusades. 
Our  story  begins  A.  D.  1291  at  Acre,  the  Key  of  Pal 
estine,  in  Armageddon,  "the  mountain  of  the  Gospel." 
The  situation  may  be  briefly  depicted :  Acre  was  filled 
with  a  mixed  and  un-homogeneous  population.  There 
were  the  ubiquitous  Galilean  traders,  without  politics ; 
shrewd  to  the  last  degree  in  traffic  and  courtly  as  a 
Parisian  ;  there  some  secret,  sullen,  silent  enemies  of 
the  Christian  invaders,  awaiting  the  coming  end  ;  there 
hundreds  of  those  camp-following  nondescript  "  good 
lord  and  good  devil  "  characters,  and  there  the  rem 
nants  of  the  Crusader  armies.  The  latter  were  not 
only  diminished  as  to  numbers  but  greatly  degraded  in 
moral  tone.  Their  warfare  had  been  belittled  to  a  de 
fense  and  a  retreat.  The  adventurers  were  uppermost ; 
courts-martial,  intrigues  and  fanfaronade  were  their  oc 
cupation  daily.  Prince  Edward,  the  Christian  leader, 
had  made  a  sworn  treaty  with  the  Moslems  long  before 
this  time  ;  but  his  pious  followers  had  quickly,  wickedly 
violated  it.  Thereupon  the  Sultan,  Kha-tel,  had  made 
an  irrevocable  treaty  with  himself,  sealed  with  the  most 
awful  oath  he  could  register,  that  he  would  never  tire 
until  he  had  exterminated  the  last  of  the  Western 
invaders  now  circumscribed  and  besieged  in  Acre. 
With  200,000  dusky  followers  the  Sultan  besieged  the 
last  stronghold  of  the  Crusaders.  The  hearts  of  the 
defenders  sank  within  them,  and  scores  sought  safety 
in  homeward  flight,  loading  down  every  vessel  bound 
for  Europe.  Among  the  first  fugitives  was  the  chief 
leader,  Hugh  de  Lusignan,  who  wore  the  phantom  title, 
•"  King  of  Jerusalem."  He  preferred  the  safety  of  dis- 


52  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

tant  Cyprus  to  the  doubtful  regality  which  was  over 
shadowed  with  nearing  death.  Only  12,000  were  left 
to  represent  the  Crusade  cause  which  once  mustered 
millions.  May  18,  1291,  the  devoted,  city  was  stormed 
by  the  Turks  ;  an  entrance  was  effected  and  a  murder 
ous  carnage,  heaping  the  streets  with  the  dead,  and  red 
ding  the  foam  of  the  moaning  sea,  followed.  But  there 
was  no  easy  victory  to  the  Moslem,  for  the  steady,  vig 
orous,  brilliant,  desperate  fighting  of  the  knights,  lay 
ing  low  piles  of  their  foes  for  every  one  of  themselves 
that  fell,  compelled  the  respect  of  the  Sultan's  host. 
The  Turks  attempted  to  gain  a  surrender  by  offering 
bribes ;  these  failing,  terms  were  offered.  The  latter, 
which  included  permission  for  the  Crusade  remnant  to 
depart  the  country  in  peace,  were  accepted.  But  the 
Sultan,  taught,  if  he  needed  the  lesson,  by  the  perfidy 
of  Prince  Edward's  Christian  truce-breakers,  quickly 
broke  his  promise  of  safe  conduct.  Though  the  re 
treating  band  was  in  no  way  party  to  the  wrong  he 
sought  to  avenge,  they  were  mercilessly  ambuscaded. 
There  followed  another  struggle  to  the  death,  a  hand 
ful  against  a  host  and  but  few  succeeded  in  cutting 
their  way  through  the  cordon  of  death.  History  has 
often  recounted  the  preceding  events  up  to  the  point ; 
from  this  point  it  is  proposed  to  lead  the  reader  along 
the  career  of  a  fragment  tossed  out  of  the  foregoing 
-.vhirlpool  of  disaster. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SIR  CHARLEROY;      THE    SOLDIER    OF    FORTUNE  AND 
KNIGHT   OF   SAINT   MARY. 


"  'Tis  quickly  seen, 

Whate'er  he  be,  'twas  not  what  he  had  been  ; 
That  brow  in  furrowed  lines  had  fixed  at  last, 
And  spoke  of  passion  but  of  passion  past." 

****** 

Chained  to  excess,  the  slave  of  each  extreme, 
How  woke  he  from  the  wildness  of  his  dream  ? 
Alas  !  he  told  not,  but  he  did  awake, 
To  curse  the  withered  heart  that  would  not  break." 

— "Lara." 


HE  course  of  the  knights  fleeing  from  Acre 
was  turned  toward  Nazareth.  There  being 
but  one  way  open  to  them,  they  took  that 
way  quickly  and  with  one  accord.  The 
fugitives  from  Acre  represented  various  knightly 
orders,  but  they  were  disorganized,  without  any  definite 
destination  and  without  an  authorized  leader.  Among 
them  was  Sir  Charleroy  de  Griffin,  a  knight  famed  for 
valor,  a  central  and  commanding  personage  ;  one  that 
would  have  attracted  attention  in  almoct  any  assembly 
of  men.  As  he  went,  so  went  the  rest  of  the  fleeing 
Christians,  and  when  he  reined  in  his  panting  steed 


54  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

after  a  time,  at  the  top  of  a  fir-crested  knoll  not  fat 
from  Nazareth,  the  knights  following  him  did  likewise. 
Then  they  drew  around  him  in  a  semi-circle,  without 
command,  and  simultaneously,  as  if  to  solicit  his 
direction.  They  had  followed  the  course  he  took 
because  he  took  it,  and  now  with  one  accord  they 
halted  because  he  had  done  so.  There  is  to  some  a 
subtile  influence  that  makes  them  leaders  of  men  ;  so 
the  disorganized  Crusaders,  by  an  unvoiced  but  fully 
expressed  concession,  admitted  the  leadership  of  this 
dashing  horseman.  Some  may  designate  this  a 
triumph  of  personal  magnetism,  but  be  that  as  it  may, 
it  was  a  fact  that  Sir  Charleroy  was  chief.  Sir  Char- 
Icroy,  just  at  the  time  of  the  foregoing  incident,  pre 
sented  an  admirable  study  for  the  philosopher  or 
painter.  From  his  saddle  he  was  able  to  overlook 
leagues  of  bright  landscape,  but  he  could  not  claim  the 
protection  of  a  foot  of  it  ;  for  the  first  time  in  his  life 
he  yearned  for  home,  now  a  spreading  sea,  and  a  wall 
of  death  shut  it  out  from  him  apparently  for  ever  ;  by 
circumstances  absolute  sovereign  almost  of  the  men 
about  him,  but  doubt  and  danger  were  confounding  all 
his  ability  to  give  commands.  He  fell  into  a  train  of 
thought,  leaving  his  comrades  to  converse  with  their 
pawing  steeds  and  to  questionings  witlijn  themselves 
as  to  the  future.  Sir  Charleroy  had  reached  an 
eminence  in  life,  one  of  those  points  of  out-look  where 
a  man's  past  meets  him  and  demands  review,  that  it 
may  explain  the  present.  He  believed  that  he  had 
reached  very  nearly  the  end  of  his  career,  and  in  that 
belief  he  began  to  weigh  it  for  what  it  was  worth. 
In  imagination  he  saw  one  writing  the  story  of  his  life. 


Sir  Cliarlcroy ;  the  Suldicr  of  Fortune,  55 

Sir  Charleroy,  the  refugee,  began  faithfully  to  review 
Sir  Charleroy,  the  wayward  youth,  pleasure-seeker  and 
reckless  man.  The  former  dictated  mentally  to  the 
imaginary  scribe :  "Write,  Charleroy  de  Griffin  was 
the  son  of  a  stalwart  French  Baron,  used  to  duels  and 
trained  to  war.  The  boy  inherited  from  his  father  a 
splendid  physique,  of  which  he  was  unduly  proud,  and 
a  restless  disposition  that  he  never  sincerely  asked  God 
to  control.  By  the  death  of  the  baron,  his  son,  an 
infant,  was  left  to  the  sole  tutelage  of  his  English 
mother.  The  latter  was  of  high  birth,  by  nature  a 
noble  woman,  and  in  every  way  worthy  of  a  better  son 
than  the  one  whom  he  had  turned  out  to  be.  She  had 
idolized  her  brawny  spouse  in  his  Lfetime,  and  when 
she  had  recovered  from  the  shock  his  death  caused,  her 
yearning  heart,  little  by  little,  turned  from  the  idol  in 
the  tomb  to  the  child  he  had  left  her.  Ere  long  she 
lived  again  in  the  rapture  of  a  love  all  absorbing,  all 
bestowing,  all  ruling.  She  lavished  her  affection  on 
the  youth,  not  because  he  was  particularly  lovable,  for 
he  was  not,  but  because  he  was  the  only  one  left  her 
to  love,  and  she  was  so  constituted  that  she  must  love; 
the  necessity  of  loving  to  her  made  it  easy. 

"Then  there  were  many  things  in  the  features  and 
form  of  her  son  that  reminded  her  of  the  man  who,  in 
brighter  days,  had  won  entirely  her  maiden  heart  and 
her  young  wife  love.  The  child  was  wont  to  wonder 
why  his  mother  embraced  him  as  she  did  sometimes, 
with  a  wandering,  startled,  wild,  passionate  embrace  ; 
but  when  he  got  older  he  discerned  the:  meaning  of 
these  outbreaks.  He  knew  that  the  mother-heart  was 
having  a  vision  of  past  wifehood,  memory's  grace-given 


j6  rhe  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

solace  of  widowhood.  Besides  this  the  embraces  were 
her  appealings  or  warnings  to  death  ;  her  heart  sud 
denly  seizing  as  if  to  shelter  and  save  her  last  and  only 
idol  ;  for  the  thought  would  sometimes  come  with 
shadows  deep  enough,  that  perhaps  the  boy  might 
also  die.  Such  love  would  have  been  a  prized  wealth 
and  blessing  to  some ;  but  in  this  case,  on  the  one  hand, 
it  unfitted  this  mother  for  the  proper  disciplining  of  this 
son,  and  this  son  though,  sometimes,  when  his  conceit 
permitted  it,  realizing  that  the  love  was  given,  not  won, 
began  to  expect  it  as  his  due  or  despise  it  for  its  lavish- 
ness.  In  due  time  he  entered  the  period  expressively 
designated,  '  The  monster  age.'  This  is  the  time 
when  expanding  young  life  has  outgrown  the  tender 
ness  of  infancy  and  failed  of  putting  on  manly  and 
womanly  graces  ;  a  time  when  there  is  a  mighty  ambi 
tion  to  put  on  the  characteristics  of  adult  life  and  a 
mighty  lack  of  ability  gracefully  to  wear  them.  At  this 
period,  perhaps,  the  majority  of  youths  of  both  sexes, 
are  interesting  chiefly  for  what  they  have  been,  or  what 
it  is  hoped  they  will  be.  They  feel,  conscious  of  their 
growing  powers,  great  self-conceit,  and  with  their 
growth  comes  an  expansion  of  their  capacities  and  wants. 
The  plenitude  of  their  wantings  makes  them  avaricious, 
hence  parsimonious  toward  others  of  every  thing,  espe 
cially  of  gratitude.  Reverence  for  elders,  respect  for 
fathers,  holy  regard  for  mothers,  tenderness  toward 
women,  chief  charms  of  youth,  are  buried  in  the  tomb  of 
other  virtues  by  great,  selfish,  ugly  demons  of  desire. 
The  monster  age  came  to  Charleroy  in  its  full  virulence, 
but  his  mother  discerned  little  of  his  monstrosity ; 
what  she  did  discern,  all  unasked,  she  condoned.  She 


Sir  Charleroy ;  the  Soldier  of  Fortune.  57 

believed  all  things,  hoped  all  things  good  of  him, 
although  seldom  comforted  by  an  expression  or  act  of 
gratitude  on  his  part.  She  was  to  be  pitied;  but  it 
may  be  said  that  the  lad  was  to  be  pitied  almost  as 
much  as  herself.  It  was  the  old  story  over  ;  she  uncon 
sciously  went  about  destroying  her  own  happiness  and 
though  she  would  have  willingly  died  if  need  be  in  his 
behalf,  she  harmed  him  beyond  estimate  by  her  indul 
gent  loving.  Then  the  youth  was  surrounded  by  those 
who  sought  the  favor  of  the  baroness  by  constantly 
sounding  in  her  ears,  and  in  the  ears  of  the  boy,  praises 
of  the  dead  baron.  They  told  of  his  daring,  they  des 
canted  upon  his  adventures,  his  powers,  his  wisdom. 
He  was  the  widow's  idol,  and  the  incense  was  grateful 
to  her,  but  the  worst  of  it  was  that  they  befooled  the 
lad  by  continually  assuring  him  that  he  was  the  image 
of  his  father,  and  surely  destined  to  equal,  if  not  sur 
pass,  his  sire  in  deeds  of  valor.  A  dangerous  burden  is 
wealth  ;  whether  it  come  as  great  name  or  great  intel 
lect,  great  physical  strength  or  as  much  gold,  it  is  a 
fateful  load  which  few  can  gracefully  support.  The 
youth  had  wealth  in  all  the  foregoing  directions;  if  he 
had  had  a  mother  whose  love  loved  wisely  enough  to 
save,  if  it  need  be  by  pain,  he  might  have  been  saved ; 
but  her  love  infatuated  her.  The  youth's  folly  brought 
him  frequently  into  shameful  entanglements  ;  but  she 
extricated  him  each  time.  Nobody  ever  heard  of  her 
even  rebuking  him  ;  as  to  chastising  him,  that  were  a 
thing  abhorrent  to  her  thoughts.  His  face  always 
bespoke  his  pardon  in  advance  with  her.  She  would 
have  smitten  her  husband's  corpse,  as  it  lay  in  its 
coffin,  as  soon  as  she  would  have  smitten  the  one 


58  /^  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

whose  features  constantly  reminded  her  of  him  her 
heart  had  held  most  dear.  Then  she  hoped,  with  a 
mother's  large-hearted  faith,  that  each  escapade  would 
be  the  last.  But  as  the  youth  grew  older  his  acts  were 
bolder.  Again  and  again,  without  notice  and  with 
heartless  inconsiderateness,  he  left  his  home  to  pursue 
some  adventure,  and  again  and  again,  mother's  love 
followed  him,  ever  to  find  him  at  last  in  some  sore 
plight,  and  then  quickly  to  forgive  him.  By  the  time 
Charleroy  had  reached  his  majority,  the  family  fortune 
had  been  severely  tried  and  depleted  in  paying  the 
penalty  of  his  follies.  He  himself  had  become  an  old 
young  man,  with  too  many  gray  hairs  and  too  much 
experience  for  one  of  his  years. 

"  At  that  time,  a  few  enthusiasts  having  determined 
to  make  one  last  effort  to  secure  the  Holy  Sepulcher, 
Charleroy  de  Griffin  ardently  enlisted  in  the  pre- 
doomed  enterprise,  allured  largely  by  its  very  desper- 
ateness.  The  crusade  spirit  was  then  a  fitful  dying 
flame  throughout  Europe.  England  and  France  were 
left  practically  alone  to  furnish  the  men  and  the  money 
for  the  last  crusade.  Prince  Edward  of  France  was  its 
leader,  and  De  Griffin,  having  in  his  veins  the  blood  of 
both  of  the  supporting  nations,  a  French  name,  a 
splendid  physique,  together  with  a  fearless,  dashing 
temperament,  was  enthusiastically  hailed  to  the  enlist 
ment  and  pushed  forward  to  leadership.  '  Sir  Cnar- 
leroy  de  Griffin  ! '  smilingly  called  out  Prince  Edward, 
the  day  of  review,  before  the  one  set  for  departure. 
The  young  man's  comrades,  many  of  whom  had  been 
his  associates  in  former  days  of  wassail,  hearing  the 
Prince's  word,  shouted  out  with  one  accord, '  Knighted  I 


Sir  CJiarleroy  ;  the  Soldier  of  Fortune.          59 

The  prince  has  knighted  de  Griffin  !  Hurrah  for  Sir 
Charleroy  ! '  The  day  following  Sir  Charleroy  bowed 
his  head,  as  he  stood  on  the  quay  ready  to  embark,  to 
receive  the  benediction  of  a  bishop.  As  the  sacrist 
laid  his  hands  on  the  young  man's  head,  the  latter, 
throwing  back  his  cloak,  reverently  touched  the  cross 
he  had  attached  to  his  bosom  with  his  jeweled  sword- 
hilt.  The  young  knight  for  a  little  while  was  very 
complacent  ;  for  he  was  enjoying  a  sentimental  emo 
tion  of  virtue,  arising  from  sophistries  with  which  his 
mind  toyed.  Some  way  he  felt  he  had  become  a  sol 
dier  of  the  holy  Christ,  and  somehow  it  seemed  to 
him  he  was  making  atonement  for  past  follies  by  now 
placing  himself  side  by  side  with  the  pious  and 
noble.  Though  in  reality  only  bent  on  seeking  excite 
ment,  adventure,  change,  he  looked  forward  to  the  re 
wards  of  conscience  belonging  alone  to  the  penitent, 
and  to  a  possible  public  canonizing  as  one  going  forth 
to  die  for  God.  A  little  piety  paralleling  one's  own 
desires  is  of'en  made  to  do  great  service  in  silencing 
the  clamors  from  within.  His  proud,  tearful  mother 
was  by  his  side.  Passionately  she  kissed  his  cross, 
then  his  brow,  then  his  eyes  and  then  his  lips;  leaving 
on  the  brow  the  glistening,  dewy  jewels  that  told  the 
story  of  the  heart  which  bade  him  stay,  yet  go.  The 
young  knight  was  for  once  in  his  Hfe  very  serious,  but 
tearless.  After  all  this,  in  rapid  steps,  followed  the 
disaster  at  Acre;  the  desperate  struggle  outside  the 
city  ;  the  flight  toward  Nazareth.  Sir  Charleroy  finally 
stands  between  the  sea  and  the  city,  a  mother's  idol 
ready  to  be  broken  ;  at  twenty-five,  near  the  apparent 
apex  and  end  of  a  life,  having  had  great  opportunities. 


6o  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

now,  with  all  lost,  he  stands  there  an  epitome  of  par 
adoxes.  He  had  made  life  a  pursuit  of  pleasure  only 
to  find  the  pursui'  ending  in  misery  ;  he  had  enlisted 
to  serve  the  Prince  of  Peace,  but  that  service  he  had 
undertaken  with  the  sword ;  he  had  championed,  as  he 
said,  the  cause  of  Christ,  the  all-conquering,  but  he 
meets  utter  defeat.  He  had  taken  for  his  patron  saint 
Mary,  after  years  of  libertinism.  He  elected  Mary,  he 
said,  because  his  mother  was  so  like  her.  But  Sir 
Charleroy's  mother  demoralized  her  son  by  over-in 
dulgence,  while  Mary,  though  informed  by  Gabriel 
that  her  offspring  was  divine,  followed  her  child  as  a 
true  mother,  with  the  divinely  appointed  authority  of 
a  mother,  serenely,  constantly  directing  his  career  up 
to  the  feast  of  Jerusalem,  where  he  began  to  reveal  his 
divine  commission.  Even  then,  motherhood  affirmed 
its  rights  in  the  very  presence  of  God  manifest,  in  the 
question  :  '  Son,  why  hast  thou  dealt  thus  ? '  Nor  was  the 
right  challenged,  for  '  he  went  down  and  was  subject  to' 
father  and  mother!  "  At  this  point  Sir  Charleroy  ceased 
mentally  tracing  his  own  career,  and  lifting  his  eyes 
looked  intently  toward  Nazareth.  "Ah,"  he  said,  but 
so  that  none  could  hear  his  words,  "  my  mother  loved 
as  many  another,  in  part  selfishly,  for  the  joy  of 
abandoned  love,  and  I  squander  that  patrimony  like  a 
spendthrift,  to  my  harm.  Mary's  love  for  her  son 
was  like  his  for  the  world,  a  constant  self-abnegation. 
That  love  survives  as  an  inspiration  to  the  world.  By 
these  contrasts  I  explain  my  failure  in  life,  and  the 
present  is  the  natural  sequence  of  the  past." 


CHAPTER  V. 

NAZARETH. 

This  is  indeed  the  blessed  Mary's  land, 

Virgin  and  Mother  of  our  dear  Redeemer! 

All  hearts  are  touched  and  softened  by  her  name; 

Alike  the  bandit  with  the  bloody  hand, 

The  priest,  the  prince,  the  scholar  and  the  peasant. 

The  man  of  deeds,  the  visionary  dreamer, 

Pay  homage  to  her  as  one  ever  present." 

— LONGFELLOW — "  Golden  Legend." 

I  walked  along  the  top  of  the  hills  overlooking  Nazareth.  A 
glorious  scene  opened  on  the  view.  The  air  was  perfectly  serene 
and  clear.  I  remained  for  some  hours  lost  in  contemplation  of  the 
wide  prospect  and  the  events  connected  with  the  scene.  One  of 
the  most  beautiful  and  sublime  prospects  on  earth," 

ROBINSON'S  Biblical  Researches. 

HE  avenging  Turks  easily  persuaded  them 
selves  that  they  could  serve  God  better  by 
participating  in  the  sacking  of  fallen  Acre 
than  by  pursuing  the  conquered,  fleeing 


Christian  knights ;  so  they  let  the  latter  escape 
inland,  while  they  themselves  returned  to  the  pillage. 
Ere  long,  by  stealth,  good  fortune  and  Providen 
tial  leading,  the  fugitives  arrived  unmolested  at 
the  top  of  a  hill,  overlooking  the  little  city  of 
Nazareth,  forever  memorable  as  having  been  once  the 
earthly  abiding  place  of  Jesus  and  Mary.  On  the  way 


62  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

thither  scarcely  a  sentence  had  been  spoken,  for  each 
felt  that  murmuring  would  be  harmful,  mirth  inoppor 
tune.  They  chose  their  course  indifferently,  all  fol 
lowing  Sir  Charleroy  de  Griffin  because  he  rode  bravely 
and  onward.  The  fugitives  paused,  partly  sequestered 
by  the  shrubbed  hillock,  forgetting  for  a  time  all  else  in 
admiration  of  the  outspreading  panorama  in  view. 
Heaven  and  earth  were  smiling  at  each  other;  thou 
sands  of  leagues  of  sky  were  filled  with  the  raptured 
songs  of  larks,  while  as  echo  and  challenge  of  the 
songs  from  above,  the  thrush  and  robin  of  the  grass 
knoll  and  thicket  responded.  From  the  plains  of 
El  Battaf  on  the  north  to  Esdraelon  on  the  south 
Nature,  God's  flower  queen,  had  decked  the  earth  every 
where  with  blossoms  of  pinks,  tulips  and  marigolds. 

"Those  dusky  cowards,"  spoke  Sir  Charlerey, 
"  though  numbering  ten  to  one,  will  not  seek  us  here  ; 
they'll  wait  an  opportunity  to  ambuscade  us." 

We've  broken  our  knight's  pledge,  never  to  flee 
more  than  the  distance  of  four  French  acres  from 
a  foe,  and  yet  methinks  we've  made  them  respect 
our  swords  ;  that's  something  to  say,  though  we've 
not  made  them  respect  our  creed."  It  was  a  Knight 
of  the  Golden  Cross  that  spoke. 

Sir  Charleroy  continued,  while  his  eyes  turned 
toward  the  city  :  "  I  thirst  for  the  waters  of  a  fount 
in  Nazareth  as  did  David  once  for  one  in  Bethlehem." 

"  For  all  of  our  getting  at  it,  Nazareth's  water  might 
as  well  be  in  Ethiopia,"  spoke  a  Hospitaler. 

"  I've  a  yearning  that  comes  near  to  sending  me  on 
a  charge  into  the  city." 

"That  would  be  a  hot  pursuit  of  death  surely." 


Nazareth.  63 

"  A  fair  one,  then,  since  death  has  been  long 
pursuing  us."  After  a  moment's  pause  Sir  Charleroy 
continued  : 

"  Ah,  death  !  None  can  escape,  none  overtake  him  ; 
see  we  are  his  prisoners  now,  yet  he  tantalizes  us  by  a 
show  of  immunity.  As  a  sarcophagus  is  let  down  by 
suspending  ropes  in  tedious  stages,  with  jogglings  and 
pauses,  into  the  grave,  so  passes  each  through  perils  and 
sickenings  from  life  to  death.  No,  no,  an  undue  fear 
of  death  intoxicates  us  until  phantasmagoria  possess 
the  brain.  We  call  these  hopes  ;  they  are  delusive  ! 
But  will  any  of  you  follow  for  a  charge  down  to  the 
Virgin's  fountain  ?  We  can  not  more  than  die  ;  that 
we  must  soon,  in  any  event.  I  think  I  could  die  more 
complacently,  having  cooled  my  thirst  where  she  was 
wont  to  cool  hers." 

"  Ugh,"  exclaimed  the  Templar,  with  a  shudder  of 
disgust,  "  the  fountain  flows  out  through  an  old  stone 
coffin!  By  my  plume!  while  drinking  there  I'd  be 
fancying  that  the  ghost  of  the  one  robbed  of  his  last 
house  were  leering  at  me  and  reveling  in  the  thought 
that  I'd  soon  be  poor  and  thirstless  as  he.  Verily 
the  flavor  of  a  drink  depends  much  on  the  goblet !  " 

''We  may  have  plenty  of  miserable  fancies,  if  we 
only  court  such  ;  for  me,  Templar,  I  prefer  to  comfort 
myself  by  cheerier  thoughts  ;  while  I  drank  there,  I'd 
think  of  the  coolings  of  death's  streams  ;  of  her,  that 
at  this  fountain  slaked  her  body's  thirst  and  from  the 
chalice  of  death  drank  serenely  at  last.  My  sword, 
the  gift  of  my  king,  after  having  shed  torrents  of 
blood,  hangs  uselessly  at  my  side.  It  seems  cruel  as 
powerless;  ay,  'tis  hateful  !  My  mother  gave  me,  on 


64  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

my  departure,  better  gifts  by  far;  tears,  kisses,  undy 
ing  love,  and  the  charge  to  call  on  Mary  if  ever  evil 
befell  me.  The  latter  I  know  not  how  to  do  ;  but 
still  my  weak  faith,  methinks,  would  be  helped  to 
cry  'Mother'  to  God,  if  I  could  only  stand  where 
that  mother  stood  who  won  the  first  love  of  the 
infant  Jesus,  the  last  anxious  thoughts  of  the  God 
man." 

"Sir  Charleroy  is  unusually  pious  to-night;  but 
alas,  though  I've  been  taught  to  say  our  church's 
Litany,  calling  on  '  the  Virgin  most  faithful,'  '  Virgin 
most  merciful,'  '  Help  of  the  Christian,'  '  Lady  of 
Victories,'  I  can  not  use  those  phrases  here.  Where's 
the  help,  the  mercy,  the  victory  now?  The  Litany, 
belongs  to  England  !  " 

"  We  are  in  our  present  plight  because  we  have 
won  heaven's  neglect  through  having  more  vices  than 
graces,  probably." 

"  Whatever  the  cause,  the  mocking  disappointment 
is  apparent.  It  is  nigh  thirteen  hundred  years  since 
the  Holy  son  and  His  mother  began  proclaiming  and 
exemplifying  the  White  Kingdom  here.  Now  in  all 
this  land  of  theirs,  we  thirteen,  fateful  number,  alone 
are  left  of  those  who  openly  own  His  cause.  Yea,  and 
the  city  where  He  grew  in  favor,  these  nature-blessed 
plains  whose  flowers  gave  Him  picture  sermons,  are 
all  filled  with  burrowing  monsters  eternally  at  war 
with  Him  and  His." 

"  Faith  will  rest  until  assured  that  the  Promiser  is 
dead,  and  that  can  never  be,  Sir  Knight." 

"  My  faith  staggers  at  the  sights  of  Nazareth.  Chieff 
look  yonder." 


Nazareth.  65 

The  knights  all  now  called  Sir  Charleroy  chief,  when 
addressing  him. 
-  "  At  what  ?  " 

"  The  ruins  !  " 

"  Ah,  all  that's  left  of  our  Crusader  church.  They 
say  it  was  built  on  the  very  spot  where  Mary  fell 
fainting,  when  she  saw  the  Nazarenes  in  wrath  drag 
ging  her  son  away  to  cast  him  down  from  the  precipice 
to  death.  But  He  escaped,  though  the  church  since 
built  did  not!  " 

"  True ;  therefore  it  seems  to  me  that  the  hand 
on  time's  dial  turns  backward.  This  city  is  filled 
with  creatures  having  hearts  as  hard  as  the  lime 
stone  walls  of  the  cave-like  houses  they  fittingly 
inhabit.  If  Christ  and  His  Mother  were  again  on 
earth  as  before,  mercy's  ministers,  the  present  inhabi 
tants  of  Nazareth  would  surpass  His  ancient  persecu 
tors  in  the  zeal  with  which  they  would  drag  not  only 
Him  but  His  mother  to  the  cliffs." 

"  Over  the  door  of  yon  ruined  church,  some  hand 
of  faith  carved  the  word  '  Victory  ! '  The  word  is  there 
yet,  and  though  the  hand  that  carved  it  is  dead,  the 
faith  which  prompted  it  hath  victory  assured  it." 

"'Victory,'  in  ruins  !  A  meaningless  boast,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  Sir  Charleroy.  Such  victory  as  ours; 
shadowy  and  very  distant !  " 

At  that  moment  one  of  the  Templars,  who  had  been 
secretly  praying  behind  a  cactus  hedge,  drew  near  and 
the  Hospitaler  addressed  him: 

"  Brother,  any  token  ?  " 

J<  Praise  Jehovah  !  yes,  of  peace." 

"  How  came  it  ?  " 


f)6  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  In  my  communings,  God  brought  to  my  mind  how 
the  wondrous  Deborah,  not  far  from  here,  pushed  the 
pusillanimous  Barak  from  his  refuge  among  the  pista- 
cas  and  oaks,  from  waverings  to  courage  and  to  glorious 
victory  over  God's  foes." 

"A  happy  thought  ;  'the  stars  on  their  course  fought 
against  Sisera  !  ' 

"  Barak  was  called  the  '  thunderbolt/  but  Deborah 
was  the  'lightning,'  The  lightning  gave  force  to  the 
bolt  and  God  to  the  lightning." 

Sir  Charleroy,  catching  the  last  sentence,  joined  in 
the  debate  : 

"  Gentlemen,  there  is  another  lesson  on  the  brow  of 
that  history;  it  is,  that  women,  having  more  trust, 
cleave  closer  to  God  in  peril  than  do  men.  Men  are 
in  a  panic  when  their  devices  fail  ;  women  have  fewer 
devices  to  fail,  hence  are  less  easily  confounded.  For 
that  reason  God  sent  out  our  race  in  pairs." 

"  Hermon's  breast  holds  the  last  ray  of  the  setting 
sun,"  remarked  the  Golden  Cross. 

"  And  the  Transfiguration  of  Christ  is  recalled  !  1 
think  some  angel  of  God  is  holding  the  sunlight  there 
for  our  instruction,  now,"  exclaimed  the  chief. 

"  Our  instruction  ?  "  queried  the  Templar.  "  I  do 
not  discern  its  meaning;  campaigning  I  fear  has 
dulled  my  brain." 

"  The  Son  of  Mary,  on  yon  mount,  met  Elijah,  repre 
sentative  of  the  prophets,  Moses,  representative  of  the 
law;  both  called  from  the  deathless  land  to  proclaim 
the  fulfillment  of  all  prophecy  and  law  through  His 
coming  passion. 

"  And  still  I  question  how  this  applies  to  us  ?" 


Nazareth.  6} 

"A  Knight  of  the  Red  Cross  should  easily  discern 
that  suffering  unto  death  for  truth's  sake  is  the  way, 
all  prophecy  declares  that  a  reign  of  law  transforming 
things  to  spiritual  splendor  shall  at  last  come  to  earth." 

"Ah,  Sir  Charleroy,  the  interpretation  is  entrancing  , 
but  why  did  the  glory  need  to  fade  into  night,  and  to 
be  followed  by  Gethsemane  and  Calvary?" 

"  Life  is  but  a  series  of  temporary  glimpses  of  the 
glory  that  shall  be  revealed.  Night  and  cloud  come 
and  go,  yet  the  sun  never  dies." 

"  But,  Sir  Charleroy,  was  it  not  hard  that  the  loving 
Immanuel  should  be  forced  to  bide  these  pangs  though 
ever  pursuing  true  righteousness?" 

"  Yea,  Templar,  but  the  glory  of  the  Transfiguration 
came  to  all  that  group  while  Jesus  prayed  ;  as  the 
angel  hastened  to  minister  when  Gethsemane  was 
darkest.  These  things  teach  that  heaven  watches  its 
own,  with  succor  according  to  want ;  great  light  at 
hand  to  baffle  great  darkness  and  royal  answers  for 
anxious  prayers  ! " 

"You  mean,  Sir  Charleroy,  that  we  few,  surrounded 
by  a  sea  of  enemies,  in  an  inhospitable  land,  far  from 
home,  should  despise  each  despairing  thought  ?  " 

"  Good  Templar,  I  am  certain  of  this,  anyway : 
Suffering  for  the  right  has  full  reward,  for  after  passion 
as  Christ's,  so  to  His  followers  there  comes  the 
ascension." 

"  Amen,"  fervently  ejaculated  several  surrounding 
knights,  and  Sir  Charleroy  felt  the  glow  that  he  felt 
that  time  the  English  bishop  blessed  him. 

As  they  thus  communed,  the  sun  had  quietly  suns, 
down  into  the  far-off  Mediterranean,  flooding  the  west 


68  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

with  light  like  molten  gold.  Doubtless  one  thought 
came  to  each  at  the  sight ;  for  all  smiled  sadly  when 
one  remarked;  "  The  West  is  very  beautiful  to-night !  " 
They  thought  with  deep  yearnings  of  home.  But  the 
darkness  quickly  drew  over  the  scene  and  the  song  ot 
the  baleful  nightingales  began  to  start  forth  here  and 
there  from  thickets  which,  in  the  darkness,  appeared 
like  plumes  of  mourning  on  acres  of  black  velvet. 
One  knight,  for  a  while  entranced  by  the  grim,  gloomy 
spectacle,  shuddered  ;  then  looked  up  as  if  to  say  : 
"When  will  the  moon  rise?  the  darkness  is  oppres 
sive  !  "  Another  tried  to  cheer  his  comrades  by  cry. 
ing :  "  England's  songsters  know  us  and  come  to  sing 
us  into  hopefulness  !  " 

"  Men,  to  rest;  you'll  need  it."  It  was  Sir  Charleroy 
who  spoke.  Responsibility  made  him  motherly. 

"  Let  us  revel  awhile  in  memories  of  better  days," 
replied  the  Templar. 

"But  listen;  do  you  not  hear  afar  off"  something 
like  the  moaning  of  the  winds  before  a  storm?" 

"What  of  it  ?  A  storm  could  add  little  to  our 
misery." 

"  The  sound  you  hear  is  the  cry  of  jackal  and  wolf; 
our  omens.  Forget  now  all  unnerving  thoughts  of 
home  and  steel  yourselves  to  meet  hard  fortune. 
For  a  while  rest.  Rest  is  now  our  wisdom ;  night, 
our  mother ;  for  a  time  in  safety  she  will  swaddle  us 
within  her  black  garments.  And  then 

"  Even  so,  good  Sir  Charleroy,  and  I'm  think 
ing  this  is  her  last  visit  to  us.  She  has  corne,  I 
guess,  to  lead  us  to  the  portals  of  eternal  day." 

"When  I  say  good-night  to  you.  comrades,  it  will  be 


Nazareth.  69 

with  the  expectation  of  next  saying  good-morning 
where  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling,"  solemnly  said 
the  Golden  Cross. 

"  But,"  interrupted  the  Hospitaler,  "while  the  pulse 
beats  we  have  a  mortgage  on  time  and  a  duty  to  plan 
to  live." 

"  Bravely  said ;  now  tell  us  how  to  plan,"  exclaimed 
several  knights. 

"  Merge  all  our  orders  into  one,  for  the  present ;  elect 
a  leader,  and —  The  Hospitaler  paused,  for  he 

could  not  guess  the  needs  or  course  of  the  future. 
But  the  knights  quickly  acquiesced  in  the  unity  of 
action  proposed. 

"  Who  shall  lead  ?  "  was  the  next  question. 

"I  nominate,"  shouted  the  Hospitaler,  "the  one 
whom  we  all  believe  must  be  under  the  especial  care 
of  the  good  angels  of  these  places  sacred  to  all  rever 
ing  mother  Mary." 

The  knights,  with  one  voice,  responded,  "  Sir  Char- 
leroy  de  Griffin,  Teutonic  Knight  of  the  Order  of  St. 
Mary!" 

The  little  band  dared  their  danger  for  a  moment  by 
a  spontaneous  cheer. 

"  We  have  no  priest  to  anoint  the  chief  of  the 
Refugees,  but  with  God  to  witness,  let  each  who  would 
ratify  the  choice  place  hilt  to  shield,  as  an  oath  of 
service  and  defense." 

Every  hilt  rang  against  Sir  Charleroy's  shield,  as  the 
Hospitaler  ceased  speaking. 

"Comrades,"  said  Sir  Charleroy,  "  I  thank  you  for 
your  confidence  in  this  hour  when  the  issue  is  life  or 
deatb  Let  us  seek  the  God  of  battles."  The  knights 


/o  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

formed    a   hollow    square    about  their  leader,  and  al! 
kneeled  upon  the  earth. 

Their  wondering  steeds  seemed  to  catch  the  spirit 
of  their  riders,  and,  drawing  near,  drooped  their  heads. 
For  a  few  moments  there  was  awing  silence,  and  then 
in  deep  measured  tones  the  Hospitaler  began  chanting, 
"  Kyrie  Eleison  "  (Lord  have  mercy).  The  companions 
responded,  "  Christi  Eleison."  Then,  amid  those 
scenes  of  sacred  history,  the  kneeling  soldiers,  together, 
and  without  command,  with  only  the  stars  for  altar- 
lights,  solemnly  chanted  a  portion  of  the  sublime 
Litany  of  their  church.  Galilee  never  before,  nor  since, 
heard  a  more  sincere  orison:  "  Pour  forth,  we  beseech 
Thee,  oh,  Lord,  Thy  grace  into  our  hearts,  that  we  to 
whom  the  incarnation  of  Christ,  Thy  Son,  was  made 
known  by  the  message  of  an  angel,  may  by  His  passion 
and  His  cross  be  brought  to  the  glory  of  His  resur 
rection,  through  the  same  Christ,  our  Lord.  Amen." 

As  they  arose,  a  Templar  spoke  :  "  Companions,  if  it 
so  please  you,  put  a  seal,  the  seal  of  the  Red  Cross 
Knights,  upon  our  act."  So  saying,  the  knight  crossed 
his  feet,  then  spread  out  his  arms  horizontally;  simili 
tude  of  the  crucifixion.  All  reverently  imitated  the 
action,  meanwhile,  their  swords  being  in  hand  with 
blades  crossing,  forming  a  fence  of  steel. 

"Comrades,"  spoke  Sir  Charleroy,  with  emotion,  "I 
accept  the  trust,  and  vow  by  Him  that  gave  the  single- 
handed  Elijah  on  yonder  far-off  wrinkled  Carmel,  sign 
by  fire,  that  confounded  Baal  and  its  regal  hosts,  to 
lead  you  to  liberty  and  home  or  to  glorious  graves  " 

"  /;/  hocsignovinceS)  living  or  dead,"  was  the  chorused 
response.  Just  then  the  rising  moon  flooded  their 


Nazareth.  Ji 

interlaced  swords  with  light,  and,  as  they  glittered,  the 
knights  took  it  for  an  omen  that  there  was  a  blessing 
in  the  union  of  their  swords. 

"  Sir  Charleroy,  I  proclaim  thee  king  of  Jerusalem  ; 
what  say  you,  comrades?  "  exclaimed  a  hitherto  silent 
Knight  of  St.  John.  Once  more  every  knight's  sword 
touched  the  leader's  shield. 

"Nobly  proclaimed!"  remarked  the  Templar. 
"  When  De  Lusignan  deserted  us,  ceasing  to  be  kingly, 
he  ceased  to  be  king." 

"Have  charity,  men,"  interrupted  their  chief;  "it 
takes  a  world  of  courage  to  fall  with  a  falling  cause 
when  a  way  of  escape  is  open." 

"Oh,  we'll  have  charity  ;  the  same  that  Tancred  had 
for  that  brave  preacher  and  craven  soldier,  Hermit 
Peter;  the  latter  ran  from  peril  and  Tancred  raced  him 
back.  We  can  not  reach  Lusignan  to  whip  him  to  duty, 
but  we  can  vote  him  dethroned  and  dead.  All  coward3 
are  dead  to  the  brave." 

"  But,  companions.  I  must  decline  the  presumptuous 
title  and  phantom  throne.  Jerusalem  shall  have,  to 
us,  but  one  king  ;  the  Son  of  Mary.  For  the  future,  to 
you,  let  me  be  simply  Sir  Charleroy.  Now  let  us  be 
moving." 

"  Whither?  "  anxiously  inquired  several  knights  in  a 
breath. 

"  Over  the  valley  to  the  cactus  hedges  against  the 
limestone  cliffs  before  us,  where  runs  along  the  great 
highway  from  Damascus  to  Egypt.  We  shall  not 
need  the  route  to  either  point,  probably  ;  but  those 
hills  are  full  of  caves  for  the  living  and  tombs  for  the 
dead."  All  obeyed. 


72  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  Why  so  thoughtful  ?  "  said  the  Hospitaler  to  the 
Knight  of  the  Golden  Cross,  who  marched  along  with 
his  cloak  partly  shielding  his  face. 

"  I'm  living  in  the  past,"  he  sententiously  answered. 

"  The  past?  Ah,  to  make  up  by  a  back  journey  for 
an  expected  briefing  of  thy  future  ?  " 

"  No,  raillery  here,  Hospitaler.  I  was  just  wishing 
that  since  we  are  so  near  Endor,  Saul's  witch  would 
call  up  some  saintly  Samuel  to  tell  us  where  wre  shall 
be  this  time  to-morrow." 

"  Oh,  Golden  Cross,  know  we  can  best  bear  the  good 
or  evil  of  the  future  by  seeing  it  only  as  it  comes ; 
for  me,  I  prefer  to  think  of  another  place,  near  us,  but 
having  a  more  helpful  incident  for  the  memory  of  such 
as  we." 

"  Dost  thou  mean  Nain  ?  " 

"  The  same.  There  a  dead  only  son  was  raised  from 
the  bier  to  comfort  a  widowed  mother." 

"  Well  said,  Hospitaler,"  responded  Sir  Charleroy, 
'•  and  let  us  not  forget  that  it  was  a  mother's,  tearful 
prayers  that  won  the  working  of  the  miracle." 

"  Alas,  knight,"  sighed  the  Templar,  "  we  have  no 
mothers  to  so  petition  for  us  here,  if  we  be  quenched 
ere  long." 

"Some  of  us  have  living  mothers  who  never  cease  to 
pray  for  us,  nor  will  until  their  breath  ceases.  In  this 
land,  where  God  appeared  through  motherhood,  I 
have  a  strong  confidence  that  our  mothers'  prayers, 
re-enforced  by  our  appealing  but  unvoiced  needs,  will 
move  the  motherhood  of  God,  if  such  I  may  call  His 
tenderest  lovings.  I'll  trust  to-night  my  mother's 
prayers,  reaching  from  England  to  Heaven  and  from 


Nazareth.  73 

thence  to  here,  further  than  all  the  sympathy  forgetful 
Europe  will  vouchsafe  us.  A  nation  cheered  us  to  bat 
tle,  and  yet  it  will  never  seek  for  the  fragments  defeat 
has  left ;  but  the  man  never  lived,  no  matter  what  his 
ill  deserts,  whom  true  mother  love  and  eternal  God 
love  ever  forgot."  After  this  long  address,  Sir  Char- 
leroy  again  felt  the  glow  within  ard  the  approvings 
that  he  felt  on  the  quay  when  the  bishop's  hands  were 
on  his  head. 


CHAPTER  VI, 

THE     FUGITIVES. 

Tis  not  in  mortals  to  command  success; 
But  we'll  do  better,  Sempronius  ;  we'll  deserve  H.~ 

— Cafe, 

HE  fugitives  slept,  some  in  the  obliviousness 
of  complete  fatigue  and  others  restlessly, 
their  minds  perturbed  by  dreams  of  their 
impending  perils.  Dawn  summoned  all  to 
renewed  activity,  but  its  coming  was  not  greeted  joy 
fully  by  the  knights. 

"  Sir  Charleroy,"  mournfully  spoke  a  Hospitaler  to 
the  former,  as  they  met  at  the  outskirts  of  the  camp 
ing  place,  "our  comrade,  the  Knight  of  the  Holy 
Sepulcher,  made  good  his  escape  from  this  woeful 
country  during  the  early  morning,  before  dawn,  as  our 
comrades  were  sleeping!" 

"Why,  impossible!"  questioningly  responded  the 
chief. 

"  Alas,  'twas  rather  impossible  for  him  riot  to  go !  " 

"  I'm  in  no  humor  for  such  petty  jesting  !  See,  his 
steed  is  there  yet,"  and  Sir  Charleroy  turned  on  his 
heel  impatiently  as  he  spoke. 

"  Pardon,  companion,  he  that  departed  was  born* 
away  by  the  white  charger  with  black  wings ! " 


The  Fugitives.  7^ 

"Dead?" 

''Mortals  say  'dead'  of  such,  but  it  were  better  to 
say  he  is  free." 

"  Peace  to  his  soul,"  fervently  spoke  Sir  Charleroy. 

"  Ah,  knight,  thou  canst  not  imagine  the  peacefulness 
of  his  going  !  " 

"  But  why  were  we  not  summoned  ?  We  might  have 
consoled  him  at  least  ;  perhaps  we  might  have  healed. 
W.'iat  was  his  malady  ?  " 

'  A  poisoned,  arrow  wounded  him  in  the  retreat  from 
Acre.  He  did  not  realize  his  peril  until  the  agonies  of 
the  end  we /e  wracking  his  >ody.  Then  he  said,  '  Too 
late  ;  it's  useless  to  attempt  resistance  of  the  inevi 
table.'  " 

"  Now  this  is  pitiful — a  humiliation  of  us  all. 
Heavens,  Hospitaler!  there's  not  a  knight  among  us 
who  would  not  have  periled  his  life  in  effort  in  the 
dying  man's  behalf." 

"But  he  cautioned  me  against  disturbing  any  one  on 
his  account.  '  Poor  men,'  he  said,  '  they'll  need  all  the 
rest  they  can  get  for  the  struggles  of  the  day  to  come.' 
Only  once  did  he  seem  to  yearn  for  a  remedy,  and  that 
time  he  spoke  mostly  as  one  dreaming.  I  remember 
his  every  word — '  I  wish  I  could  bathe  these  hot  and 
bleeding  wounds  in  the  all-healing  nards  said  to  exude 
exhaustlessly  from  the  image  of  the  Virgin  Most 
Merciful  at  Damascus.'  I  roused  him,  then,  with  an 
appeal  for  permission  to  summon  thee,  but  he  forbade 
me." 

"  Thou  shouldst  have  overridden  all  protests  of  his  ! 
By  my  tokens!  I'd  have  emulated  faithful  Elenora, 
who  sucked  the  poison  from  the  dagger  stab  given  her 


76  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

spouse,  our  knightly  Prince  Edward,  by  the  would-be 
assassin  at  Acre." 

"  I  could  not  resist  him  ;  his  face  shone  in  the  moon 
light  with  heavenly  brightness;  mine  was  covered  with 
tears.  Oh,  chief,  the  dying  man  spoke  like  an  angel. 
Once  he  said  :  '  It  is  sweet  to  go  out  here,  nigh  where 
the  resurrection  angel,  Gabriel,  gave  Mary  the  glad 
tidings  that  her  humanity  was  to  join  with  the  Good 
Father  to  bring  forth  One  capable  of  sounding  each 
human  sorrow  here  and  hereafter.  He  overcomes  the 
dread  last  enemy  of  all  our  race ! '  I  watched  as  he 
fixed  his  dying  gaze  upon  the  golden  cross  he  wore ; 
his  last  words  still  fill  and  inflame  my  soul :  '  Brother, 
good-night — say  this  to  each  for  me.  I  feel  great 
darkness  creeping  in  to  possess  this  broken,  weary 
body.  It  comes  to  stay,  but  my  soul  moves  forth  out 
of  its  dungeon.  I  see  gates  most  lofty,  all  glorious, 
and  oh,  so  near!  They  open  to  an  eternal  day.'  Then 
he  breathed  his  last,  murmuring  tenderly:  '  I'm  going; 
good-night;  good-morning!'  The  Hospitaler  ended 
his  recital  with  a  great  sob,  then  burying  his  face  in  his 
cloak,  was  silent. 

Presently  the  knights  formed  a  hollow  square  about 
an  old  tomb  in  the  hillside.  The  Hospitaler  sup 
ported  tenderly  the  head  of  the  dead  comrade  in  his 
lap.  On  the  naked  breast  of  the  corpse  lay  the  many- 
pointed  golden  cross  of  the  Knights  of  the  Sepulchcr, 
while  round  the  body  was  wrapped  a  Templar's  ban 
ner,  with  its  significant  emblem,  two  riders  on  one 
horse  ;  symbol  of  friendship  and  necessity. 

"  Let  the  one  who  received  the  dying  prayer  of  our 
brave  companion  speak,"  said  Sir  Charleroy.  The 


The  Ftigitives.  77 

knights  all  knelt,  and  the  Hospitaler  still  reverently 
supporting  the  head  of  the  dead,  spoke.  "  Knight  of 
Christ,  sleep  ;  the  clamors  of  war  shall  no  more  dis 
turb  thee.  The  dead  at  least  r.re  just  and  merciful. 
Israelite,  Mohammedan  and  Christian  may  lie  together 
in  these  vales,  reconciled  at  last.  They  that  would  not 
share  a  loaf  to  save  life  to  one  another,  in  death  share 
quietly  all  they  have,  their  beds.  The  ashes  of  the 
long  sleepers  have  no  contentions ;  here  are  no 
crowdings  of  each  other;  no  misunderstandings;  no 
alarms.  Sleep,  soldier,  thy  worthy  warfare  finished  ; 
thy  cause  appealed  to  the  Judge  of  All  !  Sleep  and 
leave  us  to  battle  on  'mid  perils  and  pain.  Sleep 
thy  body,  while  thy  soul  fathoms  the  mysteries  to  us 
inscrutable.  Rest  now,  and  leave  us  here  a  little 
longer  to  wonder  why  it  is  that  human  creatures  must 
needs  inhumanly  oppose  and  slay  each  other  for  the 
enthroning  of  Truth,  the  friend,  the  quest  of  all ! 
Sleep,  and  leave  us  to  wonder  why  death  and  conflict 
are  the  openers  of  the  gates  of  life  and  peace."  Some 
of  those  kneeling  wept,  but  they  were  too  much  de 
pressed  to  speak.  Quietly  they  laid  the  body  within 
its  resting  place ;  quietly  they  sealed  up  the  tomb's 
entrance.  Then  they  mounted  their  steeds  at  their 
chief's  command. 

"  There  are  but  twelve  of  us  left ;  a  lucky  number. 
Perhaps  the  breaking  of  the  fateful  spell  believed  to 
follow  the  number  thirteen,  was  death's  beneficence  !  " 
It  was  the  Templar  who  so  spoke. 

"It  is  said,  Templar,"  responded  Charleroy,  "that 
our  Mary,  in  her  girlhood,  was  escorted  ever  by  an  in 
visible  heavenly  guard,  a  thousand  strong.  In  the  guard 


78  TJic  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

there  were  twelve  palm-bearing  angels  of  rare  splendor, 
commissioned  to   reveal  charity." 

"  A  worthy  companionship,  chief!  " 

"I'm  inclined  to  pray  heaven  to  send  again  to  these 
parts  the  beautiful  twelve,  to  assure  us  good  fortune 
and  victory." 

"  Surely  the  prayers  of  us  all  join  thine,  Sir  Charle- 
roy ;  but  methinks  we  have  forgotten  how  to  pray  aright, 
or  heaven  has  forgotten  to  answer  us.  We  have  been 
praying  and  fighting  for  months  only  to  find  at  last 
that  our  prayers  and  our  battlings  are  alike  vain,  1 
fear  there  are  no  palm-bearing  angels  at  hand." 

The  horsemen  slowly  wended  their  way  back  to  fne 
hill-top,  overlooking  Nazareth,  on  which  they  first 
paused  the  night  before.  Again  they  halted  to  aa- 
mire  the  prospect,  as  well  as  to  look  for  a  route  or 
safe  retreat.  Nazareth  was  astir.  The  little  band  on 
the  hill  could  hear  the  morning  trumpeters  calling  the 
Moslem  to  worship. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  the  leader  of  the  band  on  the 
hill,  "  it  is  wisdom  to  divide  into  two  parties,  and 
make  for  the  sea  by  different  routes.  At  Caesarea  we 
may  find  some  vessels  wth  which  to  leave  these  to  us 
fateful  shores.  If  we  Yieet  the  foe  anywhere,  the 
odds  against  us  now  are  so  great  that  death  or  en 
slavement  must  be  the  result.  Perhaps  if  there  be 
two  parties  one  may  escape."  The  knights  paused 
about  their  leader  a  few  moments  in  affectionate  de 
bate  ;  all  opposing  at  first  the  plan  that  was  to  scatter 
them,  but  all,  finally,  convinced  that  it  was  the  highest 
wisdom  to  go  on  their  ways  apart.  Lots  were  cast  by 
the  «leven,  De  Griffin  not  participating.  Four  were 


The  Fugitives.  79 

grouped  in  one  party  and  seven  in  the  other  by  the 
result. 

"I'll  join  the  weaker  party,  remembering  the  five 
wounds  of  Jesus,"  said  SirCharleroy,  reining  his  steed 
to  the  smaller  company.  A  moment  after  he  contin 
ued  :  "Now,  good  souls,  away  with  grief;  part  we 
must :  here  and  now.  May  God  go  tenderly  with  the 
seven,  a  covenant  number.  Now  make  your  wills; 
then  a  brief  farewell;  then  use  the  spur. " 

"Wills?"  said  a  Templar,  and  they  all  smiled  in  a 
sickly  way  at  the  word.  "  We  knights,  boasting  our 
poverty,  our  holding  of  all  we  have  in  community, 
know  nothing  of  will-making." 

"  True,  the  pelf  we  each  have  is  small  enough  ;  a 
few  keep-sakes,our  arms  and  such  like  ;  but  our  love  is 
something.  Let's  will  that,  and  if  we've  aught  to  say 
before  we  die,  we'd  better  say  it  now.  There  is  work 
ahead,  and  plenty  of  it.  There  will  be  no  time  for 
ante-mortcm  statement  when  we  meet  the  cimeters  of 
the  Crescent."  So  spoke  Sir  Charieroy.  He  con 
tinued,  "  My  slayer  will  take  good  care  of  my  jewels." 
Me  commenced  writing  upon  a  bit  of  parchment, 
using  for  rest  the  pommel  of  his  saddle.  In  a  few 
moments  he  paused. 

"Wilt  thou  read  thine,  that  we  may  know  how  to 
make  ours,  chief  ?  "  inquired  one  near  him. 

"  A  message  to  my  mother;  that's  all." 

"  Enough;  that's  sacred." 

"Yes — but — no.  Misery  has  knit  us  into  one  fam 
ily.  I  feel  to  confide."  So  saying,  he  read  his 
writing,  omitting  only  the  portion  that  recited  their 
recent  vicissitudes :  — 


8o  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  And  now,  beloved  mother,  we  turn  from  Naza 
reth  toward  the  sea  with  only  a  forlorn  hope  of 
reaching  it.  I  long  to  meet  thee,  but  the  longing 
must,  I  fear,  content  itself  in  reaching  out  my  heart's 
best  love  across  the  distant  ocean  toward  thyself.  It 
is  all  I  can  give  in  return  for  the  mysterious  conscious 
ness  that  thine  is  a  constant  presence.  My  memory 
teems  with  records  of  my  life-long  ingratitude  toward 
thyself,  that  gave  me  birth  and  all  a  loving  heart 
could  bestow,  and  now  I'm  tasting  bitterest  remorse 
for  all  those  selfish  days  of  mine.  I  wish  I  could 
recall  their  acts.  Take  these  words  as  my  request  for 
pardon.  I  shall  bind  this  little  parchment  scrap  in  my 
belt  in  a  vague  hope  that  some  way,  some  time,  it  may 
reach  thee.  If  it  do,  remember  it  is  sent  to  bear  to 
thee,  beloved  mother,  the  assurance  that  thy  once  way 
ward  boy  remembers  now,  as  he  has  for  months,  as  the 
brightest,  best,  most  exalting  and  blessed  things  of  all 
his  life,  thy  loving  words,  thy  patient  trust  in  him  and 
all  thy  pious  exhortations.  I  thank  God  now  for  all 
my  trials  and  perils.  They  have  brought  me  to  full 
prizing  of  thy  goodness  and  near  to  the  religion  thou 
dost  profess." 

The  reader  paused,  and  the  companion  knights  at 
once  began  begging  him  to  inscribe  messages  for  them 
each,  he  being  the  only  one  in  all  the  company 
having  the  priestly  gift  of  the  pen.  Most  of  them 
said,  "To  my  mother"  or  "To  my  sister,  write ;" 
but  one  blushed  as  he  said,  "  I've  no  mother  nor 
sister."  His  comrades  rallied  him  at  once:  "Name 
her,  the  other  only  woman  !  " 

"A  heart  as  brave  as  thine,  knight,"  said  the  Hos 
pitaler  to  the  blushing  youth,  "  has  a  queen  on  its 
throne,  somewhere." 

The  youth  blushed  more  and  drew  away  a  little. 


The  Fugitives,  81 

"  Only  a  lover,"  said  the  Templar.  "  Lovers,  absent; 
assuage  their  pinings  by  new  mating!  They  forget; 
mothers  never  do.  Write  for  us,  Sir  Charleroy. " 

The  blush  of  the  youth  deepened  to  anger,  evincing 
his  heart's  high  protest  against  any  hint  of  doubt 
being  aimed  at  his  queen  ;  but  he  was  self-restraining, 
silent.  "  I'll  not  reveal  her  by  defense  even,"  was  his 
whispered  thought. 

The  writing  was   finished.     "  Farewell !     Forward.'' 

The  chief  suited  the  action  to  the  commands,  and 
soon  his  steed  was  dashing  swiftly  away  with  its 
rider,  followed  by  the  others  of  his  party.  The  seven 
departed  toward  Nain ;  perhaps  it  was  an  ominous 
choice,  for  their  route  led  them  toward  the  cave  of 
incantation,  where  Endor's  witch  called  up  for  Saul  the 
shade  of  Samuel.  Most  likely  the  words  or  the  dead 
prophet  to  the  haunted  warrior.  "To-morrow  thou 
shalt  be  with  me,"  would  have  told  the  fate  of  the 
seven  that  morning  fittingly,  for  thev  were  never 
heard  from  by  any  of  their  earthly  rnends. 


CHAPTER  VI!. 

ICHABOD. 

"  Oh.  that  many  may  know 
Thfc  end  of  this  day's  business,  ere  it  come  ; 
But  it  sufficeth  that  the  day  will  end, 
And  then  the  end  is  known." 

—  Julius  Ccesar. 


TEDIOUS  ride   brought   the  five  knights 
nigh  Shunem,  the  City  of  Elijah. 

"  We'll  find  no  prophet's  chamber  here 
for  such  as  we,"  remarked  Sir  Charleroy. 

"  Perhaps,"  said  a  comrade,  "  we  may  by  force  or 
cajoling  find  a  breakfast  ;  a  cake  or  cruse  of  oil." 

"Anyhow,"  replied  the  chief,  "we  must  try  for  a 
little  food.  We  can  neither  fight  nor  flee  with  gaunt 
hunger  on  our  flanks.  Who  knows,  after  all,  but  that 
we  may  happen  on  a  humane  being  in  these  parts." 

"  Well,  good  captain,  if  we  should  find  a  Shulamite, 
black,  but  comely,  she  might  be  as  loving  to  thee  as 
that  one  of  old  was  to  Solomon,  although— 

The  sentence  was  broken  off  by  the  interrupting 
command  of  Sir  Charleroy,  "  Men,  quick  to  cover  ;  to 
the  lemon-tree  grove  on  the  right  !  " 

A  glance  back  revealed  a  host  of  armed  men  behind 
the  knights. 

"  All  saints  defend  !"  cried  the  Templar,  as  the  little 
band  wheeled  toward  the  refuge. 


Icliabud.  83 

The  tale  of  the  battle  to  the  death  that  ensued,  is 
quickly  told. 

Sir  Charlcroy,  though  he  had  fought  with  reckless 
bravery,  as  one  hotly  pursuing  death,  alone  survived. 
A  bludgeon  blow  felled  him  ;  when  he  recovered 
consciousness,  he  beheld  standing  by  his  side  a 
gorgeously  bedecked  Moslem.  The  clangor  of  the 
conflict  was  over;  the  blood  in  which  he  weltered,  and 
the  vicious  eyes  that  watched  him,  were  all  that  re 
minded  the  knight  of  what  had  recently  transpired. 
Presently  the  latter  addressed  the  one  that  stood 
guard  : 

"  Why  is  the  infidel  so  tardy  in  finishing  his  work?" 

"  Is  the  Crusader  in  a  hurry  to  reach  night  ?'  sen- 
tentiously  replied  the  man  of  gorgeous  trappings. 

"  He  would  like  to  stay  long  enough  to  execute  a 
murderer — the  chief  of  thy  horde." 

"My  here1"?     Thou  knowest  me?" 

"  Oh,  ye;  Azrael,  Angel  of  Death,'  thy  minions  call 
thee  ;  but  i  defy  thee  as  I  loathe  thee." 

The  chief's  brow  darkened  ;  his  sword  rose  in  air, 
and  he  exclaimed  :  "  Hercules  was  healed  of  a  ser 
pent  bite,  ages  ago,  at  Acre;  Islamism  in  the  same 
place  recently  ;  I  must  finish  the  hydra  by  cutting  off 
thy  hissing  head,  Christian." 

Sir  Charleroy  steadily  met  his  captor's  gaze,  eye  to 
eye,  and  was  silent. 

The  chief  paused  ;  then  lowering  his  sword,  toyed 
its  point  against  the  cross  on  the  prostrate  man's 
breast. 

"Bitter  tongue,  thou  dost  worship  a  death  sign  5 
dost  thou  so  love  death?" 


8^.  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  Death  befriends  those  who  wear  that  sign  in  truth  ; 
this  is  my  comfort  standing  now  at  the  rim  of  earth's 
last  night." 

"Thy  bright  red  blood  and  unwrinkled  brow  be 
speak  youth,  the  power  to  enjoy  life.  Youth  and  such 
power  is  ever  a  prayer  for  more  time ;  thou  liest  to  thy 
self  and  me  by  professing  to  seek  thy  end." 

"  How  wonderful !  The  '  Angel  of  Death  '  is  a  soul- 
reader  as  well  as  a  murderer!"  bitterly  rejoined  Sir 
Charleroy. 

"  Well,  then,  refute  me  !  Here's  thy  greasy,  blood 
stained  sword  ;  now  go,  by  thine  own  hands,  if  thou 
darest,  to  judgment." 

"Trusting  God,  I  may  defy  thee  ;  yet  not  hurry 
Him!" 

"I  like  the  Christian's  metal.     I  might  let  him  live." 

"  Life  would  be  a  mean  gift  now  ;  a  painful  depart 
ure  from  the  threshold  of  Paradise,  to  renew  weary 
pilgrimages." 

"  I  may  be  merciful." 

"  I  do  not  believe  it." 

"  Thou  shalt." 

"  When  I  believe  in  the  tenderness  of  jackals  and 
tigers,  in  the  sincerity  of  transparent  hypocrisy,  I'll 
praise  the  mercy  of  Azrael." 

"  Our  holy  Koran  reveals  a  bridge  finer  than  a  hair, 
sharper  than  a  sword,  beset  with  thorns,  laid  over  hell. 
From  that  bridge,  with  an  awful  plunge,  the  wicked  go 
eternally  down  ;  over  it  safely,  swiftly,  the  holy  pass 
to  happiness.  Art  ready  to  try  that  bridge?  " 

"Ready  for  the  land  of  forgetfulness  ;  no  swords  nor 
crescents  are  there." 


Ichabod.  85 

"  No,  thou  wouldst  only  reach  Orf,  the  partition  of 
Aell,  where  the  half-saints  tarry  ;  thy  bravery  merits  that 
much;  but  I'll  teach  thee  to  reach  better  realms." 

"  Turk,  Mameluke,  'tis  fiendish  to  prejudge  a  dying 
soul ;  leave  judgment  to  God,  and  share  now  all  that  is 
within  thy  power,  my  body,  with  thy  fit  partners,  the 
vultures !  " 

"  A  living  slave  is  wort'r  more  to  me  than  a  dead 
knight ;  I've  an  humor  to  let  thee  live." 

"  Oh,  most  merciful  hypocrite !  I  did  not  think  thou 
couldst  tell  the  truth  so  readily  ;  but  let  me,  I  beseech 
thee,  be  the  dead  knight." 

"  What  if  I  save  thy  life,  teach  thee  the  puissant 
faith  of  Islam,  give  thee  leadership,  and  with  it  oppor 
tunity  to  win  entrance  to  that  highest  Paradise,  whose 
gateway  is  overshadowed  by  swords  of  the  brave? 
There  thou  mayest  dwell  forever  with  Allah  and  the 
adolescent  houris." 

"  Enough  ;  unless  thou  dost  aim  to  torture  me  !  I'm 
a  Knight  of  Saint  Mary,  and  thou  full  well  knowest 
the  measure  of  my  vows  ;  how  throughout  this  land  my 
Order  has  warred  against  thy  hateful  polygamy,  thy 
gilded  lusts  here,  thy  Harem  heaven  hereafter!  Ye 
thrive  by  luring  to  your  standards  men  aflame  now 
with  the  fire  that  burns  such  souls  at  last  in  black  per 
dition.  I  tell  thee  to  thy  teeth,  thou  and  thine  are 
living  devils.  But  ye  war  against  the  wisdom  of  the 
world  and  the  law  of  God  ;  though  triumphing  now,  ye 
will  rot  amid  your  riots  and  victories." 

The  chief's  face  grew  black  as  night  for  an  instant, 
but  recovering  himself,  he  continued,  sarcastically  at 
first,  then  with  the  zeal  of  a  proselyter: 


86  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  Speak  low,  thou,  last  dying  vestige  of  a  wan  faith ! 
Thou  mightst  make  my  solemn  followers  yell  with  ridi 
culing  laughter!  I  tell  thee  of  life  and  of  a  faith  as 
natural  as  nature  herself.  Listen  ;  there  is  for  the  brave 
and  faithful  a  Paradise  whose  rivers  are  white  as  milk 
as  odoriferous  as  musk.  There  are  sights  for  the  eye 
fetes  most  delicious  and  music  never  ceasing  to  ravish ; 
these  lure  the  brilliantly-robed  faithful  to  the  black- 
eyed  daughters  of  Pleasure.  One  look  at  them 
would  reward  such  as  we  for  a  world-life  of  pain  ;  and 
the  children  of  the  prophet's  faith  are  given  the 
eternities  to  companion  these  splendid  creatures  whose 
forms  created  of  musk  know  no  infirmity,  but  survive, 
always,  as  adolescent  fountains.  The  heaven  of 
Islamism  is  eternal  youth,  eternally  luxurious." 

"  It  befits  the  Angel  of  Death  to  gild  a  deformed 
hell  with  bedazzling  words.  Thou  and  thine  glorify  lust, 
and  thy  heaven,  like  thy  harem,  is  but  a  brothel  after 
all.  Now  let  me  blast  thy  gorgeous  charnel-house 
with  the  lightning  of  God's  Word  :  '  Blessed  are  the 
pure  in  heart  for  they  shall  see  God  !  ' 

Sir  Charleroy  had  raised  himself  up  as  he  was  speak 
ing;  now  he  fell  back,  exhausted.  He  again  felt  the 
glow  in  his  heart  that  he  felt  on  the  quay  when  the 
English  bishop  blessed  him ;  but  it  seemed  more  real 
now  than  then,  and  the  approvings  of  conscience  some 
way  came  with  rebukes  that  caused  tears  to  flow.  He 
felt  something  akin  to  real  penitence  fora  life  that  had 
not  been  always  up  to  the  ideal  that  this  debate  had 
caused  him  to  exalt.  As  he  fell  back  he  closed  his 
eyes  and  turned  his  face  from-  his  captor  ;  the  act  was  a 
prayer  to  be  helped  to  shut  out  of  his  mind  the  pic- 


Ichabod.  87 

ture  of  gilded  lust  depicted  by  the  false  teacher  that 
stood  by.  For  a  few  moments  the  wounded  man  was 
left  to  his  own  thoughts,  and  then  his  heart  went  out 
toward  home  crying  like  a  sick  or  lost  child  in  the 
night,  for  "  Mother!  "  Once  more  he  returned  to  that 
duality  of  existence  which  comes  when  one  enters  into 
personal  introspections.  There  seemed  to  be  two  Sir 
Charlcroys,  one  writing  the  history  of  the  other,  and 
the  writer  was  recording  such  estimates  as  these  :  "As 
he  lay  there,  nigh  death,  he  drew  near  to  God.  He 
had  once  been  a  rover,  seeking  the  wildest  pleasures  of 
the  European  capitals;  but  meeting  passion,  presented 
as  the  ultimate  of  life,  for  all  eternity,  his  soul  recoiled 
from  it  and  he  became  the  herald  of  purity.  Ofice  he 
had  friends,  wealth  and  physical  prowess;  but  he 
squandered  them  as  a  prodigal  ;  when  he  lay  bleeding, 
powerless  in  body,  amid  strangers,  a  slave,  he  rose  to 
the  majesty  of  a  moral  giant."  The  Sir  Charleroy  that 
was  thus  reviewed  was  comforted,  and  he  stood  oft 
from  the  picture  in  imagination  to  admire  it,  as  one 
standing  before  a  mirror.  Just  then  he  thought  of  his 
mother  and  Mary,  his  ideal,  standing  on  either  side  of 
him,  before  the  same  presentment.  It  might  have  been 
a  dream;  but  he  believed  they  smiled  through  tears, 
pressed  their  beating  hearts  to  his  and  upheld  him  by 
their  arms  with  tenderness  and  strength.  His  captor 
left  him  for  a  few  moments  only,  undisturbed.  At  a 
sign  from  Azrael,  he  was  soon  carried  away  by  a  guard  ; 
the  parley  was  ended  and  he  that  had  so  bravely  spoken 
doomed  to  confront  that  that  is  to  the  vigorous  mind 
the  worst  of  happenings,  uncertainty.  For  months  the 
captive  mechanically  submitted  to  the  fortunes  of  the 


88  TJie  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

Sheik's  caravan ;  in  health  improving ;  in  spirit  de 
pressed,  numbed.  The  knight  had  constantly  before 
him  three  grim  certainties,  escape  impossible  ;  rebel 
lion  useless  ;  each  day  hope  darkened  by  further  depar 
ture  from  the  sea.  The  captive's  treatment  from  the 
Sheik  was  not  unkind.  The  latter  met  him  by  times 
with  a  sort  of  courtly  condescension,  varied  only  by  an 
occasional  penetrating,  questioning  glance.  They  had 
little  conversation,  yet  the  Sheik's  looks  plainly  said: 
"  When  thou  art  subdued,  sue  for  favors;  they'll  be 
granted."  De  Griffin  nursed  his  pride  and  firmness  and 
prevented  all  familiarity  on  Azrael's  part.  The  latter 
was  puzzled  sometimes,  sometimes  angered  ;  but  he 
was  too  polite  to  show  his  feelings.  For  months  the 
only  conversation  between  the  two  alert,  strong  men 
might  be  summed  up  in  these  words  on  the  Sheik's 
part :  "  Slave,  freedom  and  heaven  are  sweet."  "  Knight, 
Allah  knows  only  the  followers  of  the  Prophet  as 
friends."  On  the  knight's  part  a  look  of  scorn  or  an 
expression  of  disgust  was  the  sole  reply. 

In  the  Sheik's  retinue  was  another  captive,  a  Jew. 
He  was  constantly  near  the  knight  ;  for  being  more 
fully  trusted  than  the  latter,  the  Sheik  had  made  the 
Israelite  in  part  the  custodian  of  the  Christian.  The 
knight  discerned  the  relationship  very  quickly;  though 
both  Jew  and  chief  endeavored  to  conceal  it.  Sir 
Charleroy,  at  the  first,  treated  his  companion  captive 
with  loathing  and  resentment,  as  a  spy.  After  a  time, 
the  "  sphinx,  eyes  open,  mouth  shut,"  as  Azrael 
described  Sir  Charleroy.  deemed  it  wise  and  politic  to 
make  the  Jew  his  ally.  The  resolution  once  formed, 
he  found  many  circumstances  to  aid  in  bridging  the 


Icliabod.  89 

gulf  that  separated  the  captive  and  his  guard  ;  the  cul 
tured  Teutonic  leader  and  the  wandering  Israelite. 
They  both  hated  the  same  man,  their  captor;  both 
loathed  the  religion  he  was  covertly  aiming  to  lure 
them  to  ;  both  were  anxious  for  freedom.  They  gave 
voice  to  these  feelings  when  together,  alone,  and  ere 
long  sympathy  made  them  friends.  The  next  step  was 
natural  and  easy  ;  the  stronger  mind  took  the  leader 
ship  of  the  two,  and  Sir  Charleroy  became  teacher  ;  his 
keeper  became  his  pupil  3&&  prottgt. 

The  twain  one  day,  after  this  change  of  relation, 
walked  together  conversing,  on  a  hill  overlooking  Jeri 
cho,  by  which  place  the  Sheik's  caravan  was  encamped. 

"  Ichabod,  thou  wearest  a  fitting  name." 

"  I  suppose  so,  since  my  mother  gave  it.  But  why 
say  so  now  ?  " 

"  Ichabod,  '  glory  departed,'  thou  art  like  thy  people 
— despoiled." 

"  Oh,  Lord  !  how  long?  "  piously  exclaimed  the  Jew. 

"Till  Shiloh  comes!" 

"  Verily  it  is  so  written,"  was  the  Jew's  reply. 

"  But  He  has  come,  Israelite  !  " 

"Where?"  the  startled  Jew  questioned,  drawing 
back  as  if  he  expected  his,  to  him  mysterious,  com 
panion  to  throw  back  his  tunic  and  declare  :  "  I  am  he  !  " 

"  In  the  world  and  in  my  heart." 

"Ah,  Sir  Knight,  Israel's  desolation  refutes  all  that." 

''  Jew,  thine  eyes  are  veiled.  I'll  teach  thee  to  see 
Him  yet." 

The  Jew  was  puzzled. 

The  twain  fell  into  prolonged  converse,  and  then 
in  that  lone  place  the  Crusader  waxed  eloquent,  preach- 


90  The  Queen  of  tJic  House  of  David. 

ing  Christ  and  Him  crucified  to  one  of  Abraham's 
seed. 

When  the  two  captives  descended  to  their  tents, 
each  was  conscious  of  a  new,  peculiar  joy.  One  had  the 
joy  of  having  proclaimed  exalted  truth,  faithfully,  to  the 
almost  persuading  of  his  hearer;  the  other  was  mov 
ing  about  in  the  growing  delight  and  wonder  of  a  new 
dawning  faith. 

At  frequent  intervals  Ichabod  besought  the  knight 
to  take  him  "  to  the  mountain." 

Each  visit  thither  was  a  delight  to  the  new  inquirer. 

On  such  a  journey  one  day  spoke  Ichabod  :  "  Chris 
tian,  I  am  consumed  with  anxiety  to  hear  thy  words 
and  another  anxiety  lest  they  do  me  harm.  I  am 
thinking,  thinking,  by  day,  and,  what  little  time  my 
thoughts  permit  sleep,  I'm  filled  with  wondrous  dreams  ! 
I  fear  to  lose  my  old  faith,  and  yet  it  becomes  like 
Dead  Sea  apples  under  the  light  of  this  new  way.  So 
new,  so  infatuating.  None  I've  met,  and  I've  met 
many,  ever  so  moved  me.  Why,  knight,  I've  traversed 
half  the  world  ;  sometimes  as  wealth's  favorite,  some, 
times  of  necessity  in  misfortune  ;  I've  seen  the  faiths 
of  Egypt  and  India  in  their  homes,  and  walked  amid 
the  temples  of  great  Rome,  but  with  abiding  contempt 
for  all  not  Israelitish.  Not  so  this  creed  of  the  knight 
affects  me." 

"And  for  good  reason;  I  offer  thee  the  true,  new, 
refined  and  final  Judaism  !  " 

"It  seems  so,  and  yet  I  tremble.  I  dare  not  doubt  ; 
that's  sin  ;  but  here's  the  puzzle  that  harasses  me : 
What  if,  in  doubting  these  things  I'm  now  told,  I  be 
doubting  the  very  truth,  the  Jewish  faith  '  " 


Ichabod.  91 

"  Ichabod,  thy  heart  has  been  a  buried  seed  await 
ing  the  spring.  It  has  come." 

"  OX  knight,  I'm  trusting  my  dear  soul  to  thee. 
As  a  dog  his  master,  a  maid  her  lover,  so  blindly  I 
follow  thee.  I  can  not  go  back  :  I  can  not  pause  nor 
can  I  go  onward  alone.  I'm  in  the  misery  of  a  joy  too 
great  to  be  borne,  almost,  and  yet  too  much  my  master 
to  be  given  up.  Oh,  knight,  thou  art  so  wise,  so 
strong!  Steady  me ;  hold  me  up!  I  can  only  pray 
and  adjure  thee  to  be  sincere  with  me;  only  sincere; 
that's  all;  as  sincere  as  if  thou  wert  ministering  to  the 
ills  of  a  sick  man  battling  death." 

The  child  of  Abraham,  with  a  sudden  movement, 
flung  his  arms  with  all  vehemence  about  Sir  Charleroy. 
The  East  and  the  West  embracing,  truth  leading,  love 
triumphant. 

"  Poor  Ichabod,  if  thou  hads't  no  soul,  thy  clingings 
and  yearnings  would  bind  me  to  thee  faithfully.  Thou 
hast  tried  to  give  me  charge  over  that  that  is  immortal. 
A  Higher  Being  has  it  in  loving  trust;  were  it  not  so, 
I'd  turn  in  dread  from  thy  confiding  !  " 

"  Is  mine  so  bad  a  soul,  master?  " 

"  Indeed,  no.  Its  preciousness  to  Him  that  created 
it,  is  what  would  make  me  dread  its  partial  custody." 

"  Thou'lt  help  me,  master,  now  ?  " 

"For  three  objects  I'll  willingly  die  ;  my  mother; 
our  lady,  and  the  soul  of  one  who  abandons  himself,  as 
thou,  to  my  poor  pilotage." 

"  Then,  thou  strangely  lovest  me.  Oh,  this  but  more 
persuades  me  that  thy  faith  is  right  ;  it  makes  thee  so 
good  to  a  stranger,  a  slave,  a  hated  Jew  !  " 

But  then  we  are  so  apart  and  so  unlike  each  other  I 


92  The  Queen  of  r/ie  House  of  David. 

"  No,  Jew,  I  want  to  show  that  humanity  is  one. 
The  very  creed  I'm  trying  to  teach  theeand  would  fain 
have  all  thy  race,  ay,  all  mankind  fully  understand,  is 
full  of  love,  joy,  peace.  These  follow  it  as  naturally  as 
the  flower  the  stem,  the  humming  the  flying  wing 
made  to  fly  and  be  musical." 

"  Oh,  my  dear  light,  with  thee  I'm  in  joy  and  wilder- 
ment.  Thy  presence  seems  to  bring  me  hosts  of 
crowned  truths,  all  seeking  to  enter  my  being.  I  feel 
like  a  tired  runner  ready  to  faint  when  thou'rt  absent, 
but  when  thou  talkest  the  tired  runner  is  plunged  into  a 
cooling  ocean,  whose  circling  waves,  as  it  were  charged 
with  the  stimulus  of  tempered  lightnings,  glowing  with 
a  million  rainbows,  overwhelm,  lift  up  and  rest  him. 
I'm  floating  thereon  now  !" 

"  Thy  strange  fancies  make  me  wonder,  Ichabod." 

"  Wonder  ;  why  my  strength  dies  from  over  wonder. 
I  was  ill  for  hours  yesterday.  Light  to  my  sweat- 
blinded,  feverish  eyes,  all  calm  and  healing,  comes 
when  I  yield  to  thy  will ;  but  still  all  my  joy  is 
haunted  by  ghosts  which  rise  in  day-mare  troops, 
pointing  rebukingly  to  labyrinths  into  which  I  seem 
to  be  pushed.  I  sometimes  wonder  if  I'm  seeing  real 
spirits  or  going  mad." 

"  Dost  pray,  Jew?" 

"  I  dare  not  live  without  praying!  " 

"Then  tell  the  All  Pitiful  what  thou  hast  this  day 
told  to  me.  He  loves  the  sincere,  down  to  the  deep 
est  hell  of  doubt,  and  from  it  all,  at  last,  will  lead 
tumulted  souls  safely.  An  honest  doubt  is  a  real 
prayer,  well  winged ;  quickly  it  reaches  heaven,  at 
whose  portal  it  dies  to  rise  again  all  peace." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

FROM   JERICHO   TO   JORDAN. 

'  Through  sins  of  sense,  perversities  of  will, 
Through  doubt  and  pain,  through  guilt  and  shame  and  ill 
Thy  pitying  Eye  is  on  Thy  creature  still." 

'  Wilt  Thou  not  make,  eternal  Source  and  Goal, 
In  thy  long  years  life's  broken  circle  whole, 
And  change  to  praise  the  cry  of  a  lost  soul  ?  " 

— WHITTIER. 

'EW  and  Crusader  came  to  love  each  other 
after  the  manner  of  David  and  Jonathan, 
and   they  were    both    made    stronger  and 
happier  men  on  account  of  this  loving. 
"  Sir  Charleroy,  a  year  gone  to  day,  thou  and  I  climbed 
to  glory." 

"Thou  hast  a  prolific  imagination  or  I  a  poor  mem 
ory.  I  have  no  remembrance  of  either  climbing  or 
glory  of  a  year  ago." 

"  I  may  well  remember  the  greatest  day  of  my  life  ; 
the  day  thou  tookst  me  up  yon  hill  over  against  Jericho  ; 
I  saw,  as  Elisha,  in  the  presence  of  his  great  master 
Elijah,  the  mountains,  that  day,  full  of  the  chariots 
and  angels  of  God." 

"  But,  Jew,  the  chariot  separated  Elijah  and  Elisha  ; 
we  were,  in  thy  'great  day,'  made  one." 

"  True,  but  I  got  the  prophet's  insight  and  power.  Oh 


94  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

now  1  see  Shiloh  coming  in  the  redemption  of  Jew  and 
Gentile." 

"  Radiant  proselyte,  give  God,  not  me  the  glory." 
"  I'll  call  thee,  knight,  Jordan — my  Jordan." 
"  The  Jew  rambles  amid  strange  conceptions.     Why 
am  I  like  that  mighty  stream  ?  " 

"  Its  bed  and  banks,  God's  cup  ;  they  nobly  serve, 
catching  the  pure  waters  of  mountain  springs  and 
heaven's  clouds,  to  bear  them,  mingled  with  sweet  Gali 
lee,  to  the  black  burning  lips  of  Sodom's  plains  below. 
X  was  a  dead  sea,  alive  alone  to  misery  ;  nothing  to  me 
but  my  historic  past,  and  that  sin-stained.  I'm  now 
refreshed  and  purified ;  sometime  there'll  be  life  grow 
ing  about  me ! " 

"The  highlands  of  Galilee  gather  from  heaven, 
oceans  of  sweet,  pure  water,  which  Jordan,  year  after 
year,  night  and  day,  hurries  down  to  the  Asphalt 
sea;  but  still  that  sea  remains  lifeless  and  bitter. 
Even  so,  the  clean,  white  truth  comes  to  some,  life 
long,  yet  vainly.  I  think  I'm  little  like  Jordan,  but 
much  like  that  sea." 

'And  yet,  knight,  all  is  not  vain  that  seems  so.  I 
learned  this  once,  long  ago,  in  the  vale  of  Siddim,  by 
the  sea  of  Lot.  As  I  entered  that  place  of  desola 
tion  I  thought  of  Gehenna!  The  lime  cliffs  about,  all 
barren  and  pitiless  as  the  walls  of  a  furnace,  shut  out 
the  breezes,  and  intensified  the  sun's  scorching  rays. 
A  solemn  stillness,  unbroken  by  wind,  wave  or  voice  of 
life,  was  there  ;  suffocating,  plutonic  odors  ladened  the 
air,  and  a  fog  hung  over  that  watery  winding  sheet  of 
the  cities  of  the  plain.  I  watched  that  overhanging 
cloud  until  my  heated  brain  shaped  it  into  a  vast  com- 


From  Jericho  to  Jordan.  95 

pany  of  shades  ;  the  ghostly  forms  of  the  overwhelmed 
denizens  of  those  accursed  habitations,  now  in  mute 
terror  and  confusion,  holding  to  one  another  desper 
ately  ;  fearing  to  go  to  final  judgment.  Once  I  thought 
they  were  together  trying  to  look  down  into  the  depths, 
perchance  to  seek  for  vestiges  of  their  ancient,  earthly 
habitations.  These  fancies  grew  and  grew  upon  me, 
mad  dreamer  that  I  was,  until  I  was  nigh  to  desperate 
fright  ;  but  I  found  some  little  angels  on  the  shore 
who  comforted." 

"  Angels  at  Sodom  ?  " 

"  Even  so.  The  first  was  light  and  liquid  silver;  it 
sang  a  bar  of  nature's  tireless,  varied  melody  by  my  foot 
steps  Ah,  the  little,  fresh  spring  that  burst  forth 
through  the  rim  of  the  crystalline  basin,  was  an  angel  to 
me.  Then  I  found  others  here  and  there.  At  first  I  was 
glad,  then  I  began  to  pity  them,  and  to  wish  I  could 
change  their  courses.  They  all  wended  their  ways  to 
the  desolate  sea,  and  their  sweet  currents  were  swal 
lowed  up  in  the  yawning  gulf  of  death.  'Vainly,'  I 
said  at  first.  Then  I  saw  other  angels  in  the  forms  of 
bending  willows,  and  gorgeous  oleanders.  Just  then  it 
all  came  to  me;  the  springs,  though  small  and  few, 
were  not  in  vain.  The  oleanders  and  the  willow,  whose 
roots  kissed  their  fresh  life,  were  evidences  that  the 
springs  had  been  for  good.  Aye,  more,  the  flowers  re 
joiced  me  in  those  desolations  more  than  could  the 
rose  gardens  of  the  Temple  in  days  of  happiness. 
Yea,  knight,  thou  hast  been  a  rivulet  to  Ichabod  in  a 
d^y  when  he  wandered  as  among  arid  mountains  and 
deau  seas/' 

"  Blest  child  of  Abraham,  thy  faith  is  great,  though 


96  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

I  be  but  a  pitiable  guide ;  yet  I'll  adopt  thy  similes, 
Be  thou  and  I,  to  each  other,  Jordan,  rivulet  and 
flower  by  turn  ;  the  fresh  current  gives  life  to  plant  and 
blossom,  while  plant  and  blossom  both  shade  and  beau 
tify  the  streams.  With  both  it  shall  be  well,  if  we  well 
learn  to  seek  deep  for  the  hidden  springs  of  the  life 
that  can  never  die.  Already  thou  hast  blessed  me  very 
greatly,  gathering  truths  I  failed  to  find.  Thou  re- 
turn'st  to  me  multiplied  all  I  bestow." 

"  Would  I  could  gather  for  all ;  for  my  race,  so 
blinded  !  Oh,  it  is  a  tristful  thought  that  the  nearer  I 
get  to  God,  the  further  I  get  from  them  1  love  next 
after  Him.  Even  my  mother  was  wont  to  say  to  me, 
when,  as  a  questioning  boy,  I  inquired  beyond  the 
traditions  of  the  Rabbis,  that  she'd  disown  me  to  a!! 
eternity  as  a  heretic.  My  belief  has  made  me  an  out 
cast  to  her,  and  yet  the  thought  of  her  hating  me  tears 
my  heart." 

"  I'll  love  thy  orphaned  heart." 

"  Me  ?  Love  me ;  so  far  beneath  thee  and  with  such 
pauper  power  of  payment  ?  " 

"  Thy  desolation  makes  thee  rich  ;  having  none  other 
to  love,  thou  canst  love  me  the  more.  Thou  know'st 
this  open  secret  of  loving ;  its  selfishness  demands  all ; 
getting  that  it  gives  all.  Fear  not  Ichabod,  but  that 
thou'lt  find  the  hunger  of  thy  heart  well  fed.  It  is  as 
natural  for  us  to  love  those  we  have  helped  as  to  hate 
those  we  have  harmed.  Thou  know'st  how  men  won 
der  that  the  Infinite  can  love  the  finite,  but  they  for 
get,  or  never  realized,  that  one  may  love  because  he 
has  loved.  So  is  it  with  God.  He  loves,  and  that  He 
loves  becomes  therefore  rich  and  worthful  to  Him." 


From  Jericho  to  Jordan.  97 

The  morning  after  the  betrothal,  shall  we  call  it,  of 
these  two  men  to  each  other,  long  before  dawn  the 
knight  was  wakened  by  a  cautious  step  on  the  stone 
floor  of  his  sleeping  place.  Sir  Charleroy  was  at  once 
all  alert  and  leaped  from  the  couch,  sword  in  hand, 
expecting  to  confront  some  gipsy  thief,  for  there  had 
been  a  band  of  these  wanderers  hovering  near  the  day 
before. 

"Who's  there?"  sternly  he  demanded,  advancing, 
on  guard  meanwhile. 

"  Ichabod,  Ichabod  !  "  with  trembling  voice  and  in  a 
half  whisper.  It  was  the  Jew. 

"  I  did  not  mean  to  fright  thee,"  he  hurriedly 
explained,  when  he  had  recovered  from  his  fear  of 
being  thrust  through,  "but  I've  news;  bad  news  that 
would  not  wait !  " 

"What  is  the  bad?     Is  it  near  ?" 

"  Oh,  knight,  speak  low — the  news  is  bad  enough 
and  the  ill,  though  not  on  us,  close  after  us!  " 

"  Thou  art  excited,  my  friend  ;  sit  down  and  then 
unfold  the  matter.  Meanwhile  I'll  light  a  faggot. 

"  In  truth,  I  can't  sit,  and  I've  reason  to  be  nervous." 
Then  the  man  spread  out  his  arms  and  his  fingers  as  if 
he  would  stand  all  ready  to  fly ;  his  eyes  wide  open, 
staring  as  he  talked. 

"  Our  Sheik  leaves  Jericho  to-morrow  ;  summoned  by 
the  sheriff  of  Mecca.  The  sheriff  is  supreme  to 
Moslem.  The  command  is  for  war  toward  the  east. 
Blood,  blood ;  when  will  the  world  be  done  shedding 
blood  !  " 

"  Well,  my  loving  alarmist,"  replied  Sir  Charleroy, 
coolly,  "  that's  not  very  bad  news.  If  the  Shiek  leaves 


9?  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David, 

us,  we'll  be  free  ;  if  he  takes  us,  there  will  be  a  change 
and  for  that  I  could  almost  cry  '  Blessed  be  Allah !  '  I 
am  sickened,  crushed,  dry-rotted  by  this  hum-drum 
life;  this  slavery;  dancing  abject  attendance  on  a  glut 
tonous  master,  whose  sole  object  seems  to  be  eating  o^ 
dallying  about  the  marquees  of  his  harem" 

"  Oh,  Sir  Charleroy,  the  change  has  dreadful  things 
for  us  !  " 

"  Why  ?  " 

"  I  heard  that  the  runner  bringing  the  mandate  from 
Mecca  brings  also  command  that  all  prisoners,  such  as 
we,  must  be  made  to  embrace  Islamism,  enlist  to  die, 
if  need  be,  in  this  so-called  holy  war,  or  be  sent  to  the 
slave  mart." 

"This  is  a  carnival  for  the  furies!  Why,  Ichabod, 
the  latter  is  burial  alive  ;  the  former  death  with  a  dis 
honored  conscience!" 

"Sir  Charleroy,  I  prefer  the  slavery." 

"  Well,  I  prefer  neither.     Is  the  mandate  final?" 

"  Yes  ;  I've  an  order  to  commence  packing  at  sun 
rise  ;  by  noon  we  will  be  enlisted  or  in  chains." 

"  Who  gave  thee  these  state  secrets,  so  in  detail  ? 
Perhaps  'tis  only  camp-fire  gossip  recounted  for  lack  of 
novel  ghost  stories." 

"Ah,  'tis  too  true.     I'd  swear  my  life  on  it  !" 

"  Rash,  credulous;  but  which  now,  comrade,  I  can 
not  tell." 

"  Master,  I  had  this  from  one  that  loves  me  as  I  love 
thee ;  the  young  Nourahmal,  light  of  the  harem, 
favorite  of  the  Shiek." 

"  Well,  now  it  seems  to  me  that  this  light  of  the 
harem  is  thy  favorite  rather  than  the  Shiek's." 


From  Jericho  to  Jordan,  99 

"  She  adores  me." 

"  Doubtless !  Where  a  woman  unfolds  her  mind 
there  she  brings  all  else  an  offering  easily  possessed. 
She  seals  her  change  of  allegiance  by  scattering  the 
secrets  of  the  dethroned  to  the  enthroned  lover. 
'  Nourahmal '  ?  Is  she  as  charming  in  form  as  in  name?" 

"Hold,  now!  If  thou  lov'st  me  thou  will'st  not 
continue  thus  to  wound.  I  love  that  girl,  but  not  the 
way  thou  meanest  !  " 

"  So  ?     Is  there  an  elopement  pending  !  " 

"  Unworthy  gibe  !  Say  no  more  like  it,  but  answer 
this  :  Is  it  not  possible  for  a  man  and  woman  to  be  knit 
ted  together  in  soul,  as  I  and  thou  have  been,  without 
the  shadow  of  a  remembrance  that  they  are  animals  of 
different  sexes  ?  " 

"  Possible?  Really  I  do  not  know.  It  may  be  pos 
sible,  but  so  very  rare  that  I  have  failed  to  hear  of  any 
such  relationship." 

''Then  thou  shalt  hear  of  it  now  in  Nourahmal  and 
me." 

"I'll  take  both  to  Paris!  Another  wonder  of  the 
tvcrld  !  But  explain  further." 

"My  Nourahmal  is  a  captive;  hates  the  man  to 
whom  she  must  submit  as  we  hate  him,  and  loves  me 
with  the  new  love  that  you  have  revealed  to  me, 
because  I've  shown  her  that  I  love  her  that  way ;  so 
different  from  any  thing  she  ever  knew  before." 

"  Well,  there  are  many  women  yoked  to  men  for 
whom  they  feel  no  great  affection,  yet  they  glorify 
womanhood  by  their  unfaltering  loyalty.  Loyalty  is 
woman's  glory;  the  hope  of  society.  If  the  women 
be  traitors,  then,  alas  i  " 


ioo  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  Nourahmal  is  not  a  wife!  The  man  that  parcels 
out  his  heart  to  a  dozen  favorites  buys  but  scraps  in 
return.  A  woman  in  misery's  chains,  without  the 
bands  of  the  confiding,  utter  love  of  her  lord,  will  talk  ; 
she  must  talk,  or  go  mad.  I  tell,  thee,  knight,  such  gos 
sip  is  the  panacea  of  suicidal  bent.  There  's  many  a 
woman  kills  herself  for  lack  of  a  confidant !  " 

"  Thou  hast  learned  much  philosophy  going  around 
the  world.  Jew,  but  perhaps  not  this  bitter  truth  ;  the 
woman  who  is  traitor  to  one  man  will  be  to  another. 
Thou  mayst  be  the  next.  What  if  she  set  us  fleeing  for 
the  sake  of  laughing  at  our  forced  return  ?  " 

"  Impossible,  knight  ;  she  reveres  me  truly  ;  even 
as  she  does  God ;  just  as  I  did  Sir  Charleroy  when  he 
brought  me  light  and  rest.  I  was  to  her  what  thou 
art  to  me.  One  day  I  told  her  women  had  souls,  as 
dear  to  heaven  as  the  souls  of  men  !  She  laughed  at 
me  like  a  monkey,  at  first,  and  reminded  me  that  were  I 
a  true  desciple  of  Islam  I'd  know  that  only  young  and 
beautiful  women  go  to  heaven,  and  they  even  there 
have  a  lowly  place.  Thou  knowest  these  infidels  be 
lieve  that  the  large  majority  of  hellians  are  women." 

"  Not  strange  Jew ;  they  treat  women  as  pretty  or 
useful  animals,  and  so  degrade,  not  only  themselves,  but 
these  very  women.  A  woman  so  demeaned  does  not 
become  heavenly,  to  say  the  least.  But  I  think,  if  I 
were  a  Turk,  I'd  keep  only  argus-eyed  eunuchs  to 
guard  my  harem;  in  faith,  I'd  even  have  the  tongues 
out  of  those  guards." 

"  There,  now,  thou  dost  jest  again." 

"  Well,  go  on,  in  seriousness.     Tell  us  the  pipings  o 
this  seraglio  beauty." 


Prom  Jericho  to  Jordan.  IOI 

'  I've  won  her  over  completely." 

"  This  is  not  strange.  Poets  are  always  valiant,  vic 
torious  orators  with  women.  The  female  heart  is 
emotionally  moved  up  to  belief  with  little  logic,  if  the 
speaker  be  fair,  or  musical,  or  brave  !  " 

"  I  was  none  of  these  ;  I  told  her  of  the  '  Friend  of 
Publicans  and  Sinners ;' that  fed  her  soul.  I  do  not 
believe  there  is  a  woman  on  earth  that  can  resist  that 
story." 

"Oh,  well,  I'm  not  going  to  forget  that  the  first 
woman  outran  her  mate  in  evil,  nor  that  she  exchanged 
the  All  Beautiful  for  the  snaky  demon." 

"  It  would  be  nobler  for  a  knight,  truer  for  all,  to 
judge,  if  judge  they  will,  by  wider  circles.  Do  not  re 
member  the  sin  of  one,  or  a  few,  to  the  disparagement 
of  all  ! " 

"  Eve,  the  best  made  of  all,  fell  ;  then  her  weaker 
sisters  are  more  likely  to  follow  in  her  way,"  said  the 
knight. 

"She  found  a  sin  and  fell:  thousands  of  her  daugh 
ters  have  fallen  by  sins  that  men  invented  and  thrust 
on  them.  Thou  knowest  that  most  women  who  go 
wrong,  go  in  ways  they  would  not  without  the  temp- 
tings  of  the  stronger  will.  The  sin  that  ruins  most  is 
that  to  woman's  nature  abhorrent,  until  honeyed  over 
by  the  tongue  of  man." 

"  Dexterous  lance,  art  thou,  Jew  ;  but,  anyway,  some 
women  are  born  bad." 

"No;  I'm  not  able  for  one  so  wise  as  the  knight, 
unless  I've  the  strength  of  truth.  I've  heard  that  our 
wise  men  say  that  if  we  could  trace  the  ancestry  of  any 
one  evil,  from  birth,  we  would  find  somewhere,  up  the 


IO2  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

line,  a  father,  preeminent  in  wickedness.  Say,  women 
are  weak  to  resist  evil ;  then,  say  men  are  strong  to 
propagate  it.  Now,  which  way  turns  f  he  scale  ? ' 

"  Oh,  I  say  always,  dogmatically,  if  need  be,  in  man's 
favor." 

"  Let  me  see :  Eve's  humanity  that  sinned  was  out  of 
the  finest  part  of  Adam's  body,  and  the  serpent  which 
betrayed  her  was  a  male." 

"  I'll  parry  the  thrust  by  asking  why  the  Holy  Writ 
ings  reveal  no  female  angels?  I  think  there  are  none." 

"  I've  a  wiser  reason,  knight.  It  is  this  :  Man  has  so 
foully  dealt  with  the  angels  in  the  flesh  that  God's 
mercy  reserves  their  finer  spiritual  counterparts  for  the 
sole  companionships  of  heaven,  which  justly  appre 
ciates  these  holy,  pure  and  tender  creations.  Heaven 
would  not  be  perfectly  beautiful  without  them  and, 
methinks,  can  not  spare  one  for  a  moment  ! " 

"Not  even  to  minister  to  a  needy  world?" 

"Woman's  life  is  here,  generally,  all  service,  all  min 
istry  ;  her  return  to  earth  after  death  would  be  a  work 
of  supererogation.  God  sends  back  the  male  spirits 
to  help  restore  the  world  their  sex  did  most  to  ruin." 

Then  both  the  debaters  laughed  out  as  heartily  as 
they  dared,  but  there  was  in  the  tones  of  the  knight's 
laughter  a  part-confession  of  defeat.  After  a  time 
Sir  Charleroy  spo^e  again  :  "  Thou  art  calm  now,  after 
this  diversicn,  Ichabod  ;  proceed  with  thy  story  of 
danger." 

"  Well,  Nourahmal " 

"  Oh,  yes,  begin  again  with  Nourahmal.  Samson  was 
a  pretty  good  man  for  a  giant,  but  he  had  a  betraying 
Delilah ! " 


From  Jericho  to  Jordan.  103 

44  True  enough  ;  but  he  had  also  a  noble  mother.  Re- 
member  the  better,  rather  than  the  worse/' 

"  I  remember  her  peers,  Mary  and  my  mother." 

"  So,  then,  when  sweepingly  condemning  all  the  sex, 
please  except  the  mothers,  at  least  of  those  who  may 
be  thy  hearers." 

"  Good  Jew,  I'll  not  wound  thee  !  " 

"  No  pity  for  me ;  pity  thyself.  Such  thoughts  as 
thou  hast  spoken  wound  thine  own  soul.  We  Jews 
have  an  order  called  '  Tumbler  Pharisees  ; '  they  affect 
humility,  shuffle  as  they  walk  and  stumble  on  pur- 
pose  that  they  may  not  seem  to  walk  with  confidence. 
Akin  to  them  we  have  the  '  Bleeding  Pharisees;  '  they 
walk  with  shut  eyes,  lest  they  should  see  a  woman,  and, 
stumbling  against  many  a  post,  are  soon  covered  with 
their  own  blood,  receiving  real  harm  in  flying  from 
imaginary  dangers.." 

"  '  Maya,  Maya,'  Ichabod,"  laughing  aloud,  exclaimed 
Sir  Charleroy. 

The  latter,  catching  the  knight's  arm,  hoarsely 
whispered:  "Hush!  Thou  mayst  be  heard.  What 
dost  thou  mean  by  '  Maya  '  ?  " 

"  Perhaps,  Nourahmal !  Maya  was  the  reputed  wife 
of  the  supposed  god  Brahm  of  the  Hindus.  It  is 
reported  that  she  was  in  form  like  unto  fog  and  her 
name  means  'illusion.'  A  subtle  truth,  Jew;  even  a 
god,  in  love,  is  near  a  fog  bank!  " 

"  Thou  dost  not  know  Nourahmal  and  dost  discredit 
her;  that's  slander;  thou  dost  know  me  and  ridiculesr 
me;  that's— but — I'll  not  say  it." 
"  I'd  not  pain  my  Ichabod." 
"  Nor  discredit  Nourahmal  ?" 


IO4.  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  No  ;  but  did  this  angel,  or  Syren  of  thine,  having 
shown  the  peril,  present  a  map  to  a  city  of  refuge?" 

"  Ah,  poor,  helpless  girl !  she  has  none  for  herself, 
much  less  for  us.  She  just  told  me  all  and  wept  and 
kissed  me  a  farewell,  praying  me  to  flee.  I  could  think 
of  no  question  in  the  delight  of  hearing  her  say,  she 
hoped  I'd  meet  her  in  Heaven,  in  peace  away  from 
Moslem  and  wars.  Only  think  of  her  faith  !  All  new  ; 
just  a  little  while  ago  she  did  not  know  there  was  a 
heaven  for  women.  I  felt  I  could  die  then  in  peace. 
I've  taught  one  woman  that  she  is  more  than  a  pretty 
Animal!" 

"  Then,  Jew,  to  thee,  life  is  worth  living?" 

"  Oh  truly  !  Oh,  if  this  light  could  only  spread  over 
Egypt  and  all  my  own  Syria !  " 

"  Thy  desire  is  akin  to  that  of  Mary's  son  and  noble. 
Certain  it  is  that  we  can  not  spread  that  light  by  fight 
ing  to  sustain  the  fateful  Crescent." 

"  By  the  glory  of  God,  I  never  will." 

"  Nor  I,  son  of  Abraham  ;  so  let's  decline." 

"  And  go  to  the  slave  mart  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  not  while  I've  a  sword,  Ichabod." 

"  Then  to  flee  is  the  word  ?  " 

"  The  eastern  campaigning  with  the  sheik,  would 
be  a  little  longer  route  to  Paradise?" 

"  Perhaps  not ;  I  am  assured  that  we  are  needed  of 
God  by  the  use  He  has  recently  made  of  us.  He  will 
keep  us  in  our  flight  from  bloody  persecutingwar,  and 
possible  apostacy." 

"  I  hate  the  last  word  !  A  knight  enchanted  of  Mary 
can  never  become  a  renegade ;  not  I,  at  least.  I  was 
born  October  ninth.  Tradition  says  that  the  holy  St. 


From  Jericho  to  Jordan.  105 

John  Damascene,  having  had  his  hand  cut  off  by  the 
Saracens  that  day,  was  by  Our  Lady  miraculously 
made  whole,  and  lived  long  after  to  wield  a  powerful, 
facile  pen  in  her  behalf.  I'll  trust  my  head  and  saber 
hand,  used  for  her,  to  her  protection." 

"  And  I'll  trust  Him  that  led  the  wandering  hosts 
of  Moses ;  for  '  in  all  their  affliction,  He  was  afflicted 
with  them,  and  the  angel  of  His  presence  saved 
them ;  and  He  bore  them  and  carried  them  all  the 
days  of  old.'  Oh,  master,  I've  comfort  I  can  not  tell, 
when  I  feel  orphaned,  by  thinking  of  my  Maker, 
not  only  as  a  Father,  but  as  a  Mother !  God  is 
our  Mother  when  we,  bereft  of  mother-love,  most 
feel  our  need  of  it.  So  thou  toldst  me  in  the  moun 
tains." 

"  True ;  but  shall  we  try  our  escape  now  ?  " 

"Nay,  we  had  better  wait  till  a  little  before  dawn; 
the  camp  patrol  is  then  withdrawn  ;  then  we'll  em 
brace  freedom." 

"  The  Jew  seems  very  confident." 

"Oh,  I  spent  the  hour  after  I  met  Nourahmal  (God 
keep  her),  amid  the  palms  for  which  Jericho  is  fitly 
named,  and  got  a  token." 

"A  token?" 

"  My  eyes  were  touched  in  the  darkness" 

"  Sweet  Nourahmal  followed  thee  ?  " 

"  No,  but  He  that  opened  the  eyes  of  blind  Bartimeus 
near  here." 

"What  didst  thou  see?" 

"  Elisha  healing  the  streams  about  this  palm  city, 
type  of  God  healing  the  floods  of  bitterest  fates;  after 
that  I  saw  Jericho's  walls  falling  at  the  blasts  of 


io6  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

Joshua's  trumpets,  and  remembered  that  his  God  then 
is  ours  now." 

"  Didst  thou  see  two  poor  men  fleeing  in  the  dark 
from  peril  to  peril,  pursued  by  a  hundred  horsemen, 
who  saber-lashed  them  ;  a  little  further  two  corpses,  one 
of  a  Christian  the  other  of  a  Jew,  on  which  fed  fighting 
jackals?  " 

"  I  saw  no  such  horror !  I  saw  two  led  forth  from 
their  captors,  as  Peter  from  his  dungeon  ;  the  angels 
that  blinded  the  eyes  of  the  monstrous  men,  who  of 
old  sought  to  defile  Lot's  house,  blinded  the  eyes  of 
the  pursuers  of  the  two  ;  and  the  angel  of  Peter  gave 
them  guidance  and  light.  But  come,  the  night-guard 
has  retired;  between  now  and  the  call  to  morning 
prayers  is  our  opportunity." 

Out  of  the  old  stone  stable  silently  knight  and  Jew 
glided,  threading  their  way  amid  splendors  they  be 
lieved  to  be,  but  could  not  see.  The  ministering 
spirits  were  over  and  around  them,  their  path  was 
through  the  Kelt,  the  sublimest  waddy  of  Palestine  ; 
but  night  shrouded  the  latter ;  their  weak  faith  dimly 
discerned  the  other. 

"  Can't  thou  see  any  way-marks,  Jew?" 

"  I  discern  but  few.  Yet,  what  matter?  It  is  enough 
that  He  who  leads  us  sees  ?  " 

"  The  night  is  getting  blacker  and  blacker  ;  the  omen 
makes  my  heart  shiver  as  it  beats." 

As  the  knight  spoke  there  came  a  terrific  crash  of 
thunder  and  a  succession  of  blinding  lightning  flashes. 
Sir  Charleroy  clasped  the  Jew's  arm  and  in  startled 
voice  questioned  : 

"Dost  thou  not  fear  these?" 


From  Jericho  to  Jordan.  10; 

j'  Why  should  I  ?  The  angel  guides  swing  the  torches 
of  the  unchangeable  Father  to  give  us  glimpses  of  our 
way.  All  is  well ;  I  saw  by  the  lightning  flash  that  we 
are  passing  safely  the  camp  lines  of  our  captors." 

A  few  miles  were  over-past.  The  storm  had  abated 
a  little,  and  the  first  streaks  of  dawn,  like  spears,  were 
rising  in  the  east. 

"Would  God,  good  Jew,"  said  the  now  wearied  Sir 
Charleroy,  "  that  the  Prophet  of  the  Moslem,  who,  near 
by  here,  is  said  once  by  a  stamp  of  his  foot  to  have 
brought  forth  from  the  rock  a  camel,  were  present  to 
dance  for  us  now." 

"  He  is  not  here,  so  we  must  help  ourselves,  knight." 

"Ah,  my  dear  man,  canst  thou  dance  rocks  into 
camels?  " 

"  No,  but  there  are  houses  nigh,  and  each  thou 
knowst  has  it's  stable-yard  in  front." 

"  But  there  is  the  thorny  nubk  tree,  surrounding  the 
herds." 

"  I've  faith  to  try  my  faith  when  all  I  have  is 
faith." 

"What  for;  to  steal  a  camel?" 

"  Oh,  no  ;  I'd  not  steal  a  camel  but  I'd  borrow  a 
couple  of  them.  Two  ;  for  I'm  not  one  of  the  knights 
who  exhibit  poverty,  by  riding  double,  thou  dost 
know." 

"  Borrow  ?  Well  so  be  it ;  the  black  infidels  owe  us 
for  two  years'  service.  They  borrowed  us  !  " 

"  It's  pious  to  take  the  beasts;  for  we  pay  so  honest 
debts  of  these  heathens  and  shorten  the  list  of  their 
souls'  sins  by  removing  from  them,  in  ou;  escape,  the 
opportunity  for  our  murder.'"' 


lo8  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"If  this  be  sophistry,  Ichabod,  it  is  so  sweet  that  it 
is  taken  as  delightful  truth." 

"Thou  art  persuaded?" 

"  No  man  can  out  run  me,  be  he  rabbi  or  priest,  in 
condemning  vices,  if  they  be  such  as  I  do  not  care  to 
practice,  and  I  am  a  profound  believer  in  every  creed 
that's  sweet  to  my  desires.  Here  acticti  treads  the 
heels  of  persuasion." 


On  beasts,  borrowed  without  formality,  the  fugitives 
hurried  toward  Jordan,  only  there  to  find  a  barrier  to 
their  progress  in  the  angry  torrent  swelled  by  the 
recent  storms.  It  was  clearly  futile  to  attempt  a  pas 
sage,  and  to  tarry,  waiting  the  ebb  of  the  waters,  was 
to  bring  certain  detection.  They  turned  the  heads  of 
their  borrowed  camels  toward  their  master's  homes  and 
waited  the  sunrise,  meanwhile  moving  about  to  find 
some  means  of  safety. 

"Well,  my  comrade,  I  think  it  will  not  be  long  until 
those  Turks  will  give  our  souls  an  Elijah-like  ascen 
sion  except  that  there  will  be  no  chariot.  The  morning 
shimmering  on  his  mountain  makes  me  think  of  this, 
Ichabod." 

"  The  tracks  of  our  returning  camels  in  the  wet 
earth  will  guide  our  pursuers." 

"  Suppose  we  climb  a  tree  asZacchaeus,  since  we  can 
not  have  a  chariot.  By  my  plume!  which  I've  not 
seen  for  a  year,  I  think  that  would  be  safety  ;  the 
Turks  never  look  up  except  in  prayer,  and  the  wolf 
Azrael  seldom  prays.  But  God  pity  us!  there  they  are 
coming. 


From  Jericho  to  Jordan.  109 

"To  the  tombs,  master !     On  the  left." 

"  Refuge  for  jackals?  " 

11  Yes,  but  also  for  the  miserable,  living  and  dead  ! 
Now  haste!" 

Sir  Charleroy  obeyed  quickly,  but  recoiled  with  a 
groan  of  disgust  as  he  suddenly  pushed  against  an 
entombed  body.  He  touched  his  hilt,  a*  if  determined 
to  abandon  attempt  at  flight,  and  then,  overcoming  the 
rash  impulse  to  confront  the  pursuers,  turned  about, 
seized  the  corpse,  and  dragging  it  from  its  place,  hurled 
it  over  the  river  bank  into  the  torrent.  He  was  in  the 
dispoiled  nich  in  an  instant.  A  cry  from  the  pursuers 
drew  him  forth.  "  See,  Ichabod,  the  Turks  are  running 
along  the  river  banks  watching  the  mummy  bobbing 
along  in  the  torrent.  See,  it  sinks.  Ah,  the 
brutes,  how  they  shout !  They  think  that  body 
alive,  and  that  one  poor  slave  is  hounded  to  death." 

"  Jehovah  Jeireh,  now  help  us;  they'll  soon  be  back," 
cried  Ichabod. 

"Ah,  I  forgot;  they'll  remember  there  were  two  of 
us." 

"  Calm,  Sir  Knight,  '  By  this  sign  I  conquer/  quot 
ing  thy  words  of  another.  I'll  go  forth;  the  only  one 
left;  at  least  so  they'll  think." 

Sir  Charleroy  turned  and  looked  at  the  Jew,  and  was 
amazed  to  see  him  binding  in  front  of  himself  a  board 
having  the  ominous  words,  "  Unclean  "  upon  it. 

"  What ;  thou,  a  Jew,  and  touch  that  foul  thing,  worn 
to  festering  death  by  some  leper  !  " 

"  Better  night  and  a  clean  soul,  though  in  a  body 
burned  by  the  cursed  leprosy,  than  life  in  Moslem 
slavery 


no  The  Queen  of  the  Hoiisc  of  David. 

"  But  what  if  the  disease  cleave  to  thee,  and  we 
escape?" 

"Sir  Knight,  thou  wilt  live  to  tell  others  that  a  once 
hated  Jew  was  led  of  thee  to  truth,  and  after  died  a 
living  death,  that  his  benefactors  might  survive.  I 
think  such  deeds  cause  noble  lights  to  glow  in  human 
souls." 

"  God  bless  and  pity  thee,  Ichabod." 

"Ah,  he  does;  even  now.  I  see  the  scarlet  line  of 
Rahab,  and  it  binds  the  pestilence  that  walketh  by 
noonday. 

The  furious  pursuers  spurred  their  steeds  up  toward 
the  tombs,  but  as  they  beheld  the  solitary  man,  sitting 
in  painful  attitude  with  beggar-like  palm  extended  and 
wearing  the  dread  sign,  they  rapidly  wheeled  their 
steeds  about  and  galloped  away.  The  Moslem  had 
heard  that  a  Jew  would  suffer  any  torture  rather  than 
ceremonial  pollution  ;  hence  judged  that  the  object 
before  them  could  not  be  the  refugee  they  sought. 

"  I  wonder  not  that  the  demoniac  cut  himself  madly 
when  among  the  tombs,  good  Jew.  Sure  it's  like  going 
to  glory  to  get  out  once  more.  Methinks  freedom  is 
only  sweet  when  taken  with  fresh  air!  Well,  we  are 
out  and  the  enemy  thwarted." 

"Methinks,  master,  that  the  leper  that  died  here, 
leaving  no  legacy  but  the  sign  of  his  death,  did  some 
good  in  unknowingly  making  me  his  heir." 

"And  the  corpse  I  disposed  of  so  unceremoniously 
left  me  a  house  of  safety,  though  small  and  musty. 
I've  a  bitter  thought. 

"  So,  Sir  Charleroy,  tell  it  me,  perhaps  I  can  sweeten 
it." 


From  Jericho  TO  Jordan.  ill 

"  I,  the  heir  for  a  little  time  of  that  soulless  clay,  am 
like  it." 

"  Not  much  being  here  and  alive." 

"  I  rather  think  like  it.  See  me  tossed  about  by 
strangers,  robbed  of  my  rights,  helpless  to  resist  fate's 
tides,  begrudged  the  room  I  occupy,  and  not  one  who 
once  knew  me  to  weep  over  my  besetments. 

"  Sir  Knight,  the  miracles  of  our  frequent  preserva 
tion  should  make  our  murmurings  dumb." 

In  the  evening  Jordan  ebbed  a  little  and  the  two 
wanderers  passed  over.  Nor  did  they  regret  the  con 
sequent  immersing  in  its  flood.  No  word  was  spoken 
as  they  passed  through  the  current,  for,  before  they 
entered,  having  remembered  that  at  this  Bethabara 
ford  man's  Savior  was  baptized,  they  were  each  busy 
with  his  own  meditations.  When  they  stood  on  the 
other  shore,  Sir  Charleroy  reverently  said  :  "  Comrade, 
I  prayed  as  we  passed  that  we  might  have  the  dove  of 
peace  henceforth  above  our  souls  at  least." 

"I  prayed  on  my  part  that  God  would  accept  the  act 
as  the  Christian's  typical  burial  to  the  world  and  separ 
ation  from  its  sins." 

"  How  like  death  and  birth   is  that  beautiful   type. 
They  level  all  life." 
"Are  our  lives  leveled?     knight." 

"Henceforth  ;  and  we  are  brethern." 

•'And  our  King  and  Savior  was  baptized  here  by  the 
herald  of  His  Kingdom,  John  '  " 

"Yea;  here  the  new  Judaism  was  formally  inaugu 
rated.  Tradition  says  also  that  Jesus  baptized  his 
mother  afterward  at  this  ford." 

"How  filial;  how  beautiful;  how  expressive!     He 


112  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

was  her  God,  yet  her  son,  she  his  mother  and  disciple ; 
and  each  by  all  ties  and  forms  bound  together  in  a  fel. 
lovvship  of  helpfulness. 

"  The  Jew's  an  interpreter." 

"  Sir  Charleroy  sweetens  my  trust  as  Jordan 
ens  the  bitter  waters  of  Bahr  Lut. 


CHAFFER  IX. 

THE  FEAST  OF  THE  ROSE. 

'They  arise  now  like  the  stars  before  me 
Through  the  long,  long  night  of  years  ; 
Some  are  bright  with  heavenly  radiance, 
And  others  shine  out  through  our  tears. 
They  arise,  too,  like  mystical  flowers, 
All  different  and  all  the  same — • 
As  they  lie  on  my  heart  like  a  garland 
That  is  wreathed  around  MARY'S  name," 

OOD  morning  and  a  blessing,  comrade."     It 
was  the  greeting  of  fche  Jew  to  the  knight 
who  lay  asleep  under  a  palm  the  day  after 
the    flight.      The    sleeper    slowly    rising, 
murmured : 

"  I'm  half  vexed  at  thee,   Ichabod ;  thou  hast  dis 
solved  a  dream  filled  with  sights  of  home  and  mother.  " 
"I've  brought    lentils,    barley,  and   grape-clusters 
they  are  better  than  dreams  when  the  sun  is  up." 

"  To  those  sad  when  awake,  joyful  dreams  are  wel 
come." 

"  There  are  real  joys  just  before  us." 
41  Real  joys,  just  before  us?     Grim  sarcasm  ;  a  sorry 
jest,  Jew !  " 
**No;  oh.no.     r'm  telling  thee  the  smiling,  clear- 


H4  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

faced  truth.     We'll  be  safe  at  Jabbock's  city  by  sun 
set!  " 

"Safe?  safe?  I'm  unused  to  that  word;  almost 
afraid  of  it.  What  does  it  mean  in  this  country  ?  " 

"  Oh,  these  cavalrymen  !  always  on  the  charge  ;  now 
here,  now  there.  Thy  thoughts  go  by  habit,  some 
times  racing  forward,  sometimes  retreating.  A  while 
ago  thou  wert  as  full  of  faith  as  Gideon,  now  thou  art 
as  timorous  as  Canaan's  spies." 

"  My  habits  have  grown  fat  by  feeding  on  piebald 
experiences." 

"  Experience  is  a  lying  prophet,  when  it  counts  with 
out  reckoning  God." 

"  I  can  not  see  a  step  ahead.  That's  certainty  to 
me,  though  thou  callest  it  doubt.  I  know  not  how  to 
hang  rainbows  upon  the  ghostly  brows  of  the  future 
when  I've  no  power  to  lay  hand  on  the  griostly  form 
and  have  no  rainbows." 

"  He  that  lifted  the  burdens  of  the  past  from  off  us 
holds  the  changing  winds  of  the  future  in  His  fists. 
One  second  of  life  goes  ever  with  only  one  second  of 
care.  I  learned  this  of  Sir  Charleroy  long  ago.  Now 
he  forgets  his  own  teachings.  Shall  I  call  him  Reuben, 
never  excelling  because  unstable  as  water?  " 

"  Call  me  slave:  Uncertainty's  slave!  Thou  didst 
waken  me  from  a  dream  of  home,  to  the  shock  of 
remembering  again  that  I  was  homeless,  dead  to  all 
that  once  made  life  worth  living.  The  gorgeous  hopes 
of  thy  fertile  mind  are  mocked  by  stern  present  facts." 

"Odd  talk  from  one  just  dreaming  of  his  mother;  a 
good  woman  didst  say?  then  very  hopeful  ;  all  good 
women  are.  Then  remember  how  thou  didst  lift  me 


The  Feast  of  the  Rose.  1 1 5 

to  the  very  gates  of  heaven  yesterday.  Thou  canst  not 
see  a  step  ahead  ?  Well,  then  look  back;  miles;  years. 
Was  not  our  God  in  thy  battles  in  the  thickets;  in  the 
mountains;  in  Jordan  ?  My  poor  reasoning  tells  me 
that  lie  has  wrought  too  much  for  us  to  drop  us 
now.  He  must  get  His  reward  in  keeping  us  to  the 
end." 

"Some  of  the  past  makes  me  shudder,  Tchabod." 
"  Pick  out  the  best,  not  the  worst.  We  escaped  the 
very  Gehenna  at  Jericho,  following  murderers,  the 
storm,  slavery ;  now  free,  fed,  rested,  the  eastern  air 
washed  and  sunned  to  a  tonic.  I'm  drinking  lotus  balm 
out  of  it." 

"  There  it  is  ;  the  sun's  in  thy  brain,  poet-preacher." 
"  No,  I'm  only  giving  thee  back  some  of  thine  own 
sermon^.  I  draw  from  my  own  heart  no  monster 
memories.  If  I've  fought  hard  battles  it  sufficeth 
that  I  have  fooght  them  once.  I'll  not  recall  their 
bloody  sweat  and  tears  for  the  sake  of  refighting  them. 
No,  I'm  going  back  to  the  sweet,  happy  hours  of  baby 
hood  ;  for  I  tell  thee,  knight,  there  is  a  world  of  joy  to 
a  man,  scorched  by  stern  experience,  to  forget  himself 
sometimes  back  to  the  lullabys  and  warblings  of  the 
days  of  his  innocence." 
.  "  I  can't  do  it," 

"  I  can't  help  doing  it,  especially  in  this  place!     My 
whole  beHg  feeds  on  a  present  scent  of  home." 
"  Thou  knowest  the  country  hereabouts  ?  " 
"My   soul    laughs   in    friencliy  converse  with   these 
irocuscs,    pinks,    and    asphodels,    turning    the  velvet, 
grassy  plains  to  palace  carpets.     I'm  saying  to  myself 
these  blossoms   must   know  me,    their  bowing  heads 


1 1 6  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

and  offered  odors  being  my  reward  for  nursing  theit 
mothers  when  I  was  a  boy." 

"  Well,  flowers  are  sincere  friends  ;  they  never  change 
and  are  all  charitable.  That's  why  they  are  deemed  fit 
presents  to  those  in  prison,  or  proper  offering  to  be  laid 
on  the  breast  of  the  dead  Magdalene." 

"  Ah,  dead  Magdalene ;  for  even  the  symbol  of  a 
broken  promise;  born  to  be  a  queen  of  love,  by  per 
verted  love  dethroned  !  Woman,  man's  ward,  by  man 
betrayed;  the  guide  star  setting  in  black  night;  the 
savior  of  human  purity  befouling  all  purity  !  Given 
the  power  by  which  Eve  was  to  crush  the  serpent's 
head  and  using  it  to  Dreed  all  serpentine  ills.  This  is 
Eve  turning  a  volcano  upon  Eden.  Put  flowers  upon 
her  once  passionate,  now  dead,  heart,  in  awful  contrast ! 
Nature  at  her  worst  is  intensified  anguish  ;  at  her  best 
an  ocean  of  joy,  an  universe  of  light  and  song.  So  I 
learn  of  nature  under  man.  Listen  to  nature's  per 
fumed  throb  now  :  these  thousands  of  feathered  song 
sters,  millions  of  lesser  creatures,  whose  melody  is 
larger  than  themselves  and  more  perceptible.  Hear 
tha  humming,  thrumming,  buzzing,  trumpetings. 
Oh,  this  is  life  as  the  All-Saving  tuned  it  to  utter 
joy!  It  widens,  deepens,  thickens;  getting  sweeter, 
louder,  happier  all  the  way.  A  tempest,  set  to  music, 
knight.  I'm  caught  in  it's  whirl  and  join  in  its  prais 
ings.  It  comes  over  me  as  an  insight  of  what  nature 
really  is.  God  cares  for  it  all  and  made  it  thus,  to 
throb  and  exult !  "  Ichabod  paused  in  transport. 
"  But  I  sometimes  think  there's  a  great  waste  of  these 
things  ;  there  is  so  much  in  places  where  there  is  no 
human  ear  or  eye  to  hear  or  see." 


The  Feast  of  the  Rose.  1 1/ 

"  Reuben  is  narrow-viewed  just  now.  Man  ;s  not 
rfill;  God  makes  happiness  because  He  i:?  so  full  of 
goodness  He  must.  Our  rabbis  call  Him  '  The  Foun 
tain.'  There  is  no  waste  !  He  makes  these  things  for 
His  own  joy,  and,  methinks,  looks  down  from  the  circle 
of  the  heavens  to  say  to  what  is  in  the  desert  or  wild 
erness,  '  Very  good.'  Then,  beyond  this,  I've  sometimes 
thought  He  kept  the  processions  of  joy  and  beauty 
moving  along  ;  coming,  going,  dying,  living,  ending  and 
beginning  again,  as  a  sort  of  practice  ;  by  action  keep 
ing  all  fresh  and  new.  He  causes  things  of  beauty  and 
power  to  pass  through  His  divine  alchemy  from  one 
glory  to  another,  as  the  general  causes  his  squadrons 
to  move  through  the  evolutions  of  the  battle  before 
the  conflict.  The  Father  is  awaiting  man's  hour,  man's 
return  from  sinning;  the  time  for  millennial  advent; 
then  all  delights,  as  if  fresh  born,  all  goods  newly  har 
vested,  will  appear  tc  be  multiplied,  intensified,  trans 
figured.  That  will  be  the  beginning  of  hereafter." 

"  Oh,  Israel,  the  sun  is  in  thy  brain.  I  forget  all 
logic  of  contention,  charmed  out  of  words,  by  feasting 
on  thy  orisons,  Go  on,  Jew." 

"Then  I'll  say  'twas  God,  not  chance,  nor  fate,  that 
brought  us  to  wander  alone  with  nature.  Read  well 
nature's  book  that  lies  open  in  the  lap  of  the  Great 
Teacher  !  Only  stand  close  to  Him  and  He  will  hold 
the  torch,  turn  the  pages  and  give  the  sure  interpreta 
tions  of  the  sweetness  that  feeds  quiet,  the  picturesque- 
riess  which  evokes  smiles  and  the  stately  grandeurs 
f/hich  beget  faith." 

44  Israel,  thou  climbest  the  sun-ladder  to  rhapsody!  " 

41  Whether  soaring,  climbing,   or  creeping,   I  know 


1 1 8  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

not;  but  this  I  know,  I'm  tasting  in  these  wanderings 
God's  kisses.  They  are  in  the  flowers ;  my  spirit  rests 
on  His  as  my  body  on  the  balm  of  the  fresh  breezes. 
Then,  animate  nature  seems  so  contented  and  happy! 
Why,  I've  been  ravished  by  the  songsters;  as  I've  said 
to  myself,  they  echo  the  angelic  anthem  of  heaven, 
peace.  Had  any  such  doubt  as  haunts  thee,  come  to 
me,  since  passing  Jordan,  it  would  have  been  sung  out 
of  countenance  by  the  winged  warblers  or  dragged 
from  my  heart  captive  in  floral  fetters  by  Him  that 
hath  two  staves,  beauty  and  bands." 

"  Oh,  Ichabod,  do  not  pause.     Go  on,  I  pray  thee." 

"  Then  thou  art  glad  to  hear  that  nature  is  not  a 
beautiful  widow  mourning  her  dead  bridegroom 
through  the  ages  ?  " 

"  I  love  to  listen  to  thee." 

"  Listen  to  a  wiser.  See  those  stately  heliotropes. 
They  stand  above  all  of  their  kind  with  shining  faces  ; 
great  in  aspiration,  great  in  devotion.  All  day  they 
turn  toward  the  sun  and  when  their  blossoms  fade  they 
leave  a  hardy  seed.  The  winter  may  bury  it,  but  it 
springs  forth  in  vernal  days,  strong  in  the  life  it  won 
by  loving  the  summer  sun." 

'*  Ichabod,  I'm  charmed  !  Let's  abide  here  always 
amid  these  joys  of  nature." 

"What,  be  hermits?  " 

"  Yes ;  life's  troubles  are  made  by  its  people ;  the 
fewer  people  the  fewer  troubles." 

"  While  sharing  their  troubles  may  we  not  lessen 
them.  No  man  may  live  to  himself ;  we're  wedded  to 
each  other.'' 

"  Yes,  wedded  to  life.     A  royal  phrase ;  since  I've 


The  Pcast  of  me  Rose.  119 

been  constantly  either  hating  or  loving  it ;  fearing  to 
live  and  then  fearing  to  die.  Wedded  !  ah,  ha,  ha;  the 
wedded  are  those  who  most  madly  love  and  then  most 
bitterly  hate." 

"Say  sometimes;  then  thou'lt  be  like  the  stopped 
horologue,  telling  the  true  time  once  in  twenty-four 
hours,  at  least." 

"Thy  poetry  runs  into  caustic  quality.  What  hast 
thou  been  lunching  on  since  morn?" 

"  At  least  not  on  Dead  Sea  apples,  fair  without,  ashes 
within.  My  poetry,  if  I  have  any,  always  sings  in 
accord  with  the  company  it  keeps." 

"  How  many  more  arrows  in  thy  quiver,  hast  thou  ?  " 

"  Only  one,  and  that  a  question  ;  does  my  master  in 
tend  to  foreswear  marriage  himself?  He  ridicules  it." 

"  I  have  already  done  so." 

"  Well,  'tis  well  thou  didst  not  live  in  Rome,  for  its 
citizens  that  dared  to  live  amid  the  temptations  and 
soul-crampings  of  voluntary  bachelorhood  were  highly 
taxed  for  their  disregard  of  the  claims  of  society  and 
the  state." 

"Yet  even  the  Romans  ever  deemed  bachelorhood 
a  blessing.  In  this  opinion  royal  Claudius  decreed  that 
the  sailors  who  brought  to  Rome  a  ship  loaded  from 
the  wheat  graneries  of  Egypt  in  the  time  of  Agabus's 
famine,  should  be  as  a  reward  permitted  to  remain  un 
married.  If  I  were  a  Roman  and  a  sailor  I'd  pray  for 
a  famine  and  a  Claudius." 

"  A  world  without  wives  ?     What  a  world  ! ': 

So  saying  Ichabod  caught  up  a  stick  and  began 
marking  on  the  earth. 

"  How  now,  Israel;  some  sorcery?" 


I2O  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  No — yet,  may  be,  yes.  I'll  picture  a  world  with' 
out  women." 

The  Jew  outlined  the  Egyptian  deity,  "  Kneph? 

"  What  have  we,  man  or  beast  ?  " 

"Truly,  I  think  partly  both.  The  knight  has  de 
scribed  his  Elysium  and  I  have  here  pictured  a  fit  king 
for  it.  Behold  thy  god,  sworn  celibate.  Egypt's 
adored  Kneph.  Is  this  hideous  enough  ?'' 

"  A  god  !  well  he's  not  handsome  ;  a  ram's  head  ; 
four  horns  ;  two  up,  two  down  ;  armed  as  both  ram  and 
goat  ?  " 

"  Both  were  sacred  to  him  in  Egypt ;  also  the  horned 
snake  with  which  Cleopatra  put  out  her  life ;  poor,  un 
fortunate  man-wrecked  beauty." 

"  But,  Jew,  thou  dost  dawdle  !     What  of  this  play  ?  " 

"  Oh,  nothing,  only  Kneph  would  do  well  for  a  sailor, 
at  Rome,  under  Claudius,  in  famine  time  !  " 

"  My  poet  wanders,  but  yet  stings." 

"  So  ?  Kneph  was  a  god  that  boasted,  or  rather  his 
spokesmen  did,  that  he  was  the  fatJicr  of  his  mother. 
What  economy !  No  need  to  be  grateful  to  or  love  a 
mother  ;  no  need  to  wear  a  wife  on  the  heart.  The 
folly  of  a  dark  age  by  folly  darkened  in  the  mad  at 
tempt  to  lift  up  man  without  his  purer  better  part." 

"  How  strange,  Jew,  whenever  we  touch  a  new 
belief,  or  an  old  one,  new  to  us,  we  find  peoples  fol 
lowing  an  idea  or  ideal.  There  has  been  a  crying 
through  the  world  ever  for  a  some  one  for  pilgrim 
man  to  follow.  How  passing  strange ;  our  century 
wails  the  self-same  cry  ;  and  somehow  it  always  hap 
pens  that  this  matter  has  something  to  do  with  woman. 
See;  ' K)icph '  was  the  monstrous  b:rth  of  those  who 


The  Feast  of  tlie  Rose.  12 1 

thought  man  superlative,  and  greatness  to  be  by  being 
all  man.  How  sharply  the  devotion  to  the  Madonna 
cuts  across  this!  She  was  mother  of  the  noblest,  and 
man  in  the  begetting  left  out.  Oh,  my  head's  full  of 
thoughts,  but  they  tumble  along  toward  my  lips  with 
out  system  or  leader.  I  talk  like  a  madman,  though  I 
think  like  a  Seraph." 

"  I  think,  Sir  Charleroy,  that  a  healthy  son  of  Adam 
sneering  at  all  women,  publicly,  reproaches  himself  as 
being  one  who  never  knew  a  true  one." 

"  More  javelins  !  I'd  swear,  anyhow,  that  if  I'd  been 
Adam,  no  winged  serpent  of  gaudy  colors  and  honey 
tongue  could  have  lured  me  from  Paradise,  Eve  or  no 
Eve!" 

"  If  thou  hadst  been  there  thou  wouldst  have  been 
lonesome  with  the  speechless  herds ;  finding  the  new 
woman,  would  have  loved  her  like  the  boy  who  mates 
just  to  see  how  it  seems." 

"Oh,  likely!" 

"  Then  if  thy  ward  or  angel  attempted  to  elope 
with  the  devil  thou  wouldst  have  gone  along,  too, 
from  curiosity,  as  lad  to  a  hippodrome,  just  to  see  the 
finish  ;  or  as  thousands  of  men  since  Adam,  tied  to 
wayward  women,  have  gone  down  with  them  to  dark- 
nees,  preferring  hell  with  their  idols  to  heaven  with- 

L.     »' 

out. 

"  I  suppose  so.  Oh,  how  strangely  are  the  fates  of 
men  and  women  interwoven." 

"Then  thou  dost  not  now  elect  to  live  a  hermit, 
without  the  companionship  of  the  frail,  fair  and  faithful 
sex  which  are  said  to  double  our  joys?  " 

"  Yes  and  multiply  our  sorrows  !  " 


122  Tlie  Queen  of  the  House  of  David, 

"  I  suspect  thou'lt  change  thy  late  creed  very  soon/' 

"  Why  so  ?  " 

"  I  expect  ere  long  that  we'll  meet  some  living  bios 
soms." 

"  By  my  token,  that's  good  news,  Ichabod." 

"So,  then,  thou  art  ready  to  recant?" 

Evening  came,  and  the  pilgrims  supped  on  the  mea 
ger  meat  they  were  able  to  procure  in  the  fields. 

"  Now  poet  of  the  Palm  Land  mellow  my  dreams  by 
possessing  me  of  thy  meditations.  What  fixes  thy 
gaze  ?  " 

"The  monarch  of  the  sky;  after  a  day  such  as  this 
has  been,  he  seems  to  me  to  take  his  departure  with  a 
peculiar  sort  of  triumphal  sweep  of  his  trailing  splen 
dors." 

"  Horusexulting  over  prostrate  Set." 

"  But  night,  not  the  green-colored  son  of  Osiris,  con 
quers  now,  master. 

"Night  never  conquers.  It  merely  lives  by  suffer 
ance  ;  often  routed  by  the  invincible  spears  of  the  sun. 
Darkness  creeps  forth  here  because  the  golden  charger 
in  masterful  strategy  has  gone  elsewhere  to  rout  other 
armies  of  the  dark  kingdom.  Lay  this  to  thy  heart, 
good  Jew.'  ' 

"  I  do,  as  precious  ointment  to  a  blister.  Enlarge  me.' 

"There,  Jew;  see  the  fleecy  clouds  over  Jordan. 
How  grand !  " 

"Yea,  as  I've  often  seen  them  ;  some  like  alabaster 
thrones,  and  others  like  ships  on  fire,  while  others  are 
like  silver  castles,  banded  with  cornelian  and  gold,  with 
here  and  there  hyacinthian  shields  hung  on  their  bat 
tlements,  all  fresh  as  the  stones  in  heaven's  foundation 


The  Feast  of  the  Rose.  -.       123 

walls!  How  they  career  and  float  along  the  empur 
pled  oce:in  of  the  west !  I  forget  myself  even 
now  into  their  midst.  Oh,  knight,  such  pictures, 
such  visions  make  my  soul  shout  in  peals  of  holy 
laughter." 

"  My  Israel,  the  sun  which  woos  the  earth  into  making 
love  to  him  with  flowers  never  sets  in  thy  brain ;  thou 
livest  in  the  poet's  constant  noon." 

"  But  we  both  are  changing.  Even  the  knight  gets 
mellow.  Hardship,  the  sun  and  faith  are  working  in 
us  both  for  good." 

"Getting  to  be?  No;  thou  wert  and  art  poet, 
painter  and  singer;  all  in  one.  If  the  world  does  not 
hear  thee  the  Seraphim  will,  by  and  by." 

I've  noticed  that  souls  unbent  from  some  long,  twisting 
pain,  run,  aspire  and  play.  It  is  mercy's  rest,  reward." 

44  God  fits  some  especially  to  catch  passing  joys,  Icha- 
bod." 

41  Yea,  and  it  all  comes  from  a  serene  faii-h  that  all 
is  very  good  as  He  made  it.  I'm  just  opening  to  the 
Sun  Eternal,  at  whose  right  hand  are  pleasures  ever 
more.  I  love  thy  wakening  touch,  my  guide." 

44  Ah,  I'm  a  bungling  player  on  the  harp  of  thy  soul, 
but  I  love  thy  melody.  Child  of  nature,  speak  more 
and  more  to  me." 

44  I  can  but  ill  tell  all.  I'm  dumb  amid  the  waves  of 
peace  which  enhalo,  the  hopes  that  thrill,  the  views  of 
cruth  that  fill  my  being." 

44  I  believe  thce  on  my  soul,  Jew.  I'd  stop  now  to 
remember  a  little,  perhaps  to  sleep,  since  so  I  can  follow 
dreams  that  would  craze  me  to  contemplate  awake  ;  but 
if  we  now  sleep,  pray  God  our  day-dreams  go  on  and  on 


1 24  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

I  think  we  are  pilgrims  following  spiritual  tiuths, 
They'll  lead  us  on  high;  let's  not  miss  their  direction." 

"  One  may  sleep,  master,  when  he  can  not  think ;  for 
me,  now,  I'd  rather  court,  awake,  my  mind's  guests,  for 
a  time,  meanwhile  gainsaying  the  lullabys  of  cricket 
and  nightingale  now  floating  out  from  every  bush." 

"  So  be  it.     How  shall  we  proceed  to  pass  the  time  ?  " 

"  Can  we  set  up  an  Ebenezer?  God  hitherto  hath 
helped  us." 

"  I  have  it;  we'll  to  the  feast." 

"Well,  we  have  what  some  great  kings  have  not,  and 
eo  shall  find  joy  in  a  feast.  We  have  appetite  ! " 

"  Thou  dost  miss  my  meaning,  though  thy  point  is 
prime.  We  seldom  think  to  thank  the  Giver  for  the 
power  to  enjoy  as  well  as  for  the  enjoyable.  I  knew  a 
French  prince,  once,  who  said  he'd  give  his  birthright 
for  one  good  dinner,  and  he  was  no  Esau,  either.  He 
had  dinners  and  dinners,  but  what  were  they  along 
with  premature  decay  gnawing  at  his  vitals  like  a  rat, 
while  he  himself  could  eat  less  than  a  babe  ?  " 

"I  see;  the  knight  would  have  us  thankfully  com 
memorate  to-day's  enjoyment  of  nature." 

"  Just  so  ;  I  think,  in  loving  nature,  because  we  begin 
to  understand  her,  we  will  be  on  our  way  to  all  the  nat 
ural  joy  of  which  she  is  God's  interpreter." 

"  But  our  feast  ?  " 

"  The  stars  are  out  on  the  blue  ;  their  queen  will 
soon  come  up  from  the  sea,  then  I'll  induct  thce  into 
the  feast  of  the  '  Rose.'  The  rose  is  the  queen  of 
flowers,  and  flowers  the  thoughts  of  God  I " 

"The  feast  of  the  Rose!  I've  heard  it  was  a  licen- 
cious,  heathen  orgy  !  " 


The  Feast  of  t he  Rose.  *.      125 

"  It  was  then  a  shameful  misnomer.  My  Mary  found 
it  j  transformed  it.  Out  of  it,  through  reverence  of  her, 
comes  a  beautiful  observance.  See  here,  Jew." 

So  saying,  the  knight  took  from  his  bosom  a  string 
of  precious  stones  and  arranged  them,  as  they  glowed 
under  the  moonlight,  on  the  ground  heart-shaped. 

The  knight  then  questioningly  observed  the  Jew. 

The  latter  shook  his  head  and  remarked  : 

"  I've  seen  such  often  among  the  Arabs.  They  have 
a  prayer  for  each  bead  to  be  said  the  night  after  the 
death  of  one  of  their  number,  believing  the  shade  de 
parts  not  to  Hades  'till  the  prayers  are  said.  Thou 
dos-t  not  practice  their  enchantments?" 

"  Bah !  Never.  My  gemmed  circle  has  a  deeper, 
holier  significance.  Each  pendant  is  to  recall  to  mind 
some  virtue  or  event  in  the  saintly  Mary's  life.  Then 
there  are  guilds  called,  '  Brothers  of  the  Rosary.'  I 
belong  to  one  such  ;  each  member  is  sworn  to  pray  for 
all  the  others  wherever  scattered.  The  Turks  may 
have  had  a  praying  string,  but  the  Crusaders  have 
appropriated  and  applied  it  to  nobler  uses." 

"Tell  me  more  of  it,  if  there  be  more." 

"  There  are  but  fifteen  in  my  brotherhood." 

"  Only  fifteen,  no  room  for  me?  "  said  the  Jew. 

"  Fifteen ;  to  suggest  the  fifteen  great  events-  in 
Mary's  life;  namely,  the  Annunciation;  Gabriel  an 
nounc^d  to  Mary  that  she  was  to  be  the  Mother  of 
Jesus  ;  the  Visitation  ;  Mary  in  the  Gospel  spirit  went 
quickly  to  tell  her  kinswoman  of  her  promised  favor  ;  the 
Bir 'tJi oj 'Jesus, this  was  the  crowning  joy  ;  then  here  is  the 
gem  thwt  recalls  the  Presentation  of  Jesus  \nthe.  Temple. 
Thou  koowest,  Jew,  thy  fathers  often  wondered  how; 


126  The  Queen  of  tJie  House  of  David. 

after  all,  a  lamb,  an  animal,  could  stand  between 
offended  Deity  and  man.  Jesus  in  the  Temple  was 
the  fulfillment  or  explanation  of  the  mystery  !  " 

"Yea,  truly,  I've  seen  this.  Oh,  that  all  my  people 
could  also  see  it  !  " 

"  Then,  here  is  the  jewel  that  reminds  us  of  the 
'  Scourging  at  the  pillar'  of  Him  '  by  whose  stripes  we 
are  healed.'  ' 

"  Israel  reads  Isaiah  with  darkened  mind>  my  loving 
guide.  I've  seen  this.  Oh,  that  my  people  could." 

"  Here  is  the  jewel  that  recalls  the  '  Crowning  with 
thorns  '  of  Him  that  hath  to  give,  at  His  right  hand, 
'  pleasures  forever  more.'  He  wore  that  thorny  coro 
net  that  His  redeemed  should  return  with  singing, 
crowned  with  everlasting  joy." 

"  I've  felt  it ;  feel  it  now.      Hallelujah  !  " 

"This  one  is  to  commemorate  l  Jesus  bearing  the 
Cross;'  this  one  '  His  crucifixion}  and  this  '  His  resur 
rection.'  ' 

"  The  hope  of  hopes  by  our  Saducees  denied  !  " 

"Then  we  have  here  another  to  remind  us  of  our 
Saviour's  'Ascension,'  with  His  pregnant  promise  of  a 
royal  return  to  take  at  last  His  children  home." 

"  Come,  Lord  Jesus,  even  so,  quickly  !  "  cried  Ichabod. 

"'  Wait  patiently  for  Him  and  He  will  give  thee  the 
desire  of  thy  heart,'  oh,  heir  of  faithful  Abraham  !  " 

"  I  weary  sometimes,  my  loved  teacher/' 

"  So  do  we,  of  our  brotherhood  ;  but  here  is  a  thought 
of  rest ;  this  bead  recalls  '  Pentecost'  We  are  led  of 
the  Spirit,  which  guides  to  all  truth  and  comforts  by 
the  way." 

"  But  what  has  all  this  to  do  with  Mary?' 


The  Feast  of  the  Rose,  127 

"Oh,  here  are  t\vo  beads;  one  reminds  us  of  her 
^Assumption '  into  heaven,  the  other  of  her  '  Crowning'  " 

"  \Vas  she  crowned  ?  " 

'-'  Yea,  in  heaven,  for  the  Son  of  Mary  promised  to 
His  faithful  ones  this  exaltation;  '  /  appoint  unto  you  a 
Kingdom  as  my  Father  hath  appointed  unto  me,  ye  which 
have  continued  with  me  in  my  temptation.'  Surely, 
she  that  followed  him  from  the  pains  of  parturition, 
as  an  outcast,  to  the  Cross  and  the  sepulcher,  CON 
TINUED  !  " 

"  I  would  I  could  have  been  there  to  enter  the  race 
for  such  crowning." 

"  '  He  hath  made  us  kings  and  priests  unto  God  ; 
if  we  suffer  we  shall  also  reign  with  Him,'  Jew." 

"  Hallelujah!  would  I  could  shout  it  to  heaven  ;  no, 
I  do  ;  but  rather  to  all  Jewry ! "  exclaimed  the  Is 
raelite. 

"  John  was  only  a  '  voice  crying  in  the  wilderness,'  as 
he  thought,  but  he  was  heard  at  the  palace  and  down 
the  ages.  Even  now  I  voice  his  words  in  this  lone 
place." 

"Thou  didst  not  tell  me  of  the  meaning  of  that  black 
and  red  pendant,"  said  Ichabod,  interrupting. 

"Oh,  Gcthsemane,  Jesus,  the  intercessor  for  the 
world,  '  who  ever  lives  to  intercede.'  The  black  sign 
is  of  that." 

"  Then  I've  a  Saviour  in  glory  praying  for  me.  Oh, 
this  is  balm  and  water  to  me  !  Why  do  I  dare  to  think  of 
myself  as  a  poor  Jew  !  God  pity  ;  no,  forgive  me  !  I,  re 
pining  sometimes  and  yet  defended  in  glory;  honored 
by  royal  adoption,  elected  of  God,  called  to  kingship  !  " 

"  How  we  do  go  up  and  down  ;  sometimes  thou,  some- 


128  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David 

times  I.  Now  I'm  leading,  awhile  ago  'twas  thou. 
Yea,  we  are  all  dependants;  but  this  is  healthful  med 
itation,  Ichabod,  and  thy  confession  rebukes  me  as  well." 

"  Is  this  all  of  the  feast  ?  " 

"  Oh  ,  no.  Here  are  some  tokens  to  remind  us  of 
Mary's  life ;  so  brief,  so  useful.  See,  here,  five  gems 
that  remind  us  of  the  wounds  of  her  son  ;  her  wounds 
as  well,  for  the  sword  that  pierced  Him  pierced  through 
to  her  soul  also.  At  each  of  these  emblems  we  '  Ros 
ary  Brothers  '  repeat  the  Lord's  Prayer.  Last  of  all, 
reverently  clasping  this  crucifix,  we  sacredly  repeat 
the  Apostle's  Creed,  the  same  as  I  taught  thee  at 
Jericho." 

"  I  remember,  as  I  do  the  watercourses,  when  thirsty." 

"  What  think'st  thou  of  all  this  formality?  Is  it  like 
the  Arabic  mummeries  ?  " 

"  No,  they  are  mocking  devils,  are  they  not  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  to  judge  of  their  sincerity,  nor  their  needs} 
nor  art  thou." 

"  Master,  I  wish  I  could  be  a  Rosary  Brother.  Me- 
thinks  it  would  help  my  ambling  faith  sometimes,  if  I 
could  touch  a  token." 

"  He  above  is  all  tender  of  baby  faiths  that  can  do 
no  better  than  amble.  Remember  the  words  of  thy 
own  Hosea  :  '  I  drew  them  with  cords  of  a  man,  with 
bonds  of  love,  I  taught  Ephriam  to  go  ;  taking  them 
by  the  arms ;  just  as  a  mother  teaches  her  babe  to  walk.' 
is  it  not  ?  " 

"  Even  so.     Does  the  Rosary  help  some  to  walk?" 

"  I  believe  it  does." 

"  Tell  me  more  about  it." 

"  The  Crusaders  were  the  first  to  call  Mary  '  The  Rose.' 


The  Feast  of  the  Rose.  1 29 

To  almost  all  mankind  that  flower  has  ever  been  the 
emblem  of  pure,  unselfish  love,  and  when  the  soldiers 
of  the  Cross  grew  to  understand  the  character  of  her 
that  gave  the  world  its  Saviour,  they  could  think  of  no 
title  more  fitting  for  that  queenly  woman." 

"  I've  an  Egyptian  rosary,  knight.  See,  I  wear  it 
on  this  golden  chain,  next  my  heart,  for  its  safety— 

"  To  ward  off  witchcraft  ?" 

"  Bah  !  Tis  a  toy  in  usefulness.  I  keep  it,  think 
ing  it  may  work  incantation  with  the  money-lender, 
and  so  save  me  sometime  from  starvation."  Then  the 
Jew  laughed  aloud  at  his  own  wit.  It  seemed  very 
ridiculous  to  him  to  liken  his  talisman  to  the  real 
rosary  or  its  saint." 

"Wouldst  thou  let  me  examine  it,  Jew?" 

The  latter  handed  to  the  knight  a  chain  and  image. 

"  Egyptian?  " 

"  An  image  of  Neb-ta,  sister  of  Isis,  the  wife  of  the 
Sun  God  Osiris.  It  was  given  me  by  a  Copt  priest, 
whom  I  saved  from  drowning  in  the  Nile." 

"A  Copt?" 

"A  Copt.  He  was  a  professed  Christian  ;  but,  like 
some  of  the  ancestral  Egyptians,  sought  to  be  right  by 
being  a  little  of  every  thing.  He  was  very  supersti 
tious,  though  he  thought  himself  very  broad-minded. 
He  was  quite  certain  that  Coptic  Christianity  was  true, 
though  not  equally  certain  that  his  pagan  ancestors 
were  in  faith  all  false.  He  thought  he'd  be  on  the  safe 
side  by  mixing  a  little  of  all  creeds  with  his  own,  and 
so  he  prayed  in  Christ's  name  and  also  Neb-ta's." 

"  A  pretty  fool,  Jew/' 

"Yea.      He  had  a  story  about  the  goddes?;  very 


1 30  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

pretty  when  not  absurd,  running  somehow  thu  , :  When 
Osiris  was  cut  to  pieces  by  Set,  a  type  (A  clay  slain  by 
night,  I  think,  Neb-ta  went  round  the  world  with  her 
widowed  sister,  Isis,  to  gather  up  the  fragments  of  her 
spouse.  Isis  is  the  moon  above  ;  below,  reproduction. 
She  is  pictured  in  Egypt,  as  all  the  female  deities,  \vith 
two  eggs  and  a  half-circle  at  the  side,  to  express  the 
latter  idea.  Isis  has  in  her  hand  also  this  sign — a 
cross  supporting  an  egg,  to  typify  immortality.  The 
old  Egyptian  priest  told  me  this  sympathetic  Neb-ta, 
if  I  trusted  her,  would  reward  me  for  saving  his  life,  by 
defending  my  case  in  Hades.  There  is  a  good  deal  of 
mysticism  in  all  this,  but  I  rather  prize  the  gift,  since 
it  reminds  me  that  I  once  saved  a  man." 

"  But,  Nourahmal  ?  Since  thou  knew  of  Mary  thou 
hast  saved  a  woman,  Jew." 

The  Jew  was  silent.     The  knight  continued: 

"  These  philosophic,  inseeing,  sign-writing,  symbol- 
making  Egyptians  were  •  pilgrims,  too;  a  nation  of 
graal-seekers  ;  after  an  idea,  example.  I  see  always  the 
huge  Sphinx  coming  before  me  when  I  think  of 
them." 

"  The  Sphinx  !  Well,  that's  strange.  I'd  never  think 
of  that,  unless  I  happened  upon  something  very  big 
and  very  meaningless  !  " 

"  No,  no ;  the  people  that  rocked  the  cradle  of  re 
ligions  in  their  infancy,  wrought  all  their  theology  into 
that  one  mighty  symbol,  to  endure  and  challenge  com« 
pare  with  all  that  man  should  find  beside." 

"I  do  not  see  how  !  " 

"The  Sphinx  faces  the  East — light  1" 

"  True ! " 


The  Feast  of  the  Rose.  - .      131 

"  It  can  not  reach  that  light  toward  which  it  looks. 
neither  could  the  Nubians." 

"All  true." 

"  It  was  part  man,  part  beast ;  but  the  upper  part 
was  man,  and  this  is  what  we  think  we  know,  and  all 
of  man  ?  " 

"Oh,  knight,  Phthah,  the  'beautiful-faced,'  'secret- 
opener  '  of  the  Nile  gods  has  touched  thee." 

"  The  Sphinx  was  like  man's  thought ;  too  great  foi 
words ;  at  least  such  words  as  men  can  now  fit  to  their 
lips." 

"  I  see  ;  it's  all  coming  into  my  mind,  master." 

"  It  sat  still  and  was  silent,  but  the  world  went  on  ; 
the  thought  it  expressed  reached  hearts  after  the  men 
that  formed  the  image  had  passed  away.  The  truth 
fives  ever,  and  can  not  die  until  it  completes  its  pur 
pose." 

"  Thou  art  a  magician,  ^vho  pleases,  astonishes, 
excites,  instructs,  and  at  the  same  time  plays  with 
me  as  if  I  were  a  pigmy  !  " 

"It's  not  I,  but  the  truth.  The  Sphinx  again!  Its 
hugeness,  truth  expressed,  appears  mighty  when  placed 
by  our  sides." 

"  Tell  me  where  I  am  !  Shall  I  fling  Neb-ta  away  as 
a  bauble,  or  beg  its  pardon  for  hanging  so  much  mean 
ing  to  a  fool's  neck?  " 

"  Vehement !     The  sun  is  in  thy  head  !  " 

"  But  shall  I  sit  and  look  as  a  Sphinx,  or  run  mad 
because  I  can't?" 

"  Be  calm,  and  let  me  tell  thee  that  the  dwellers  by 
the  mighty  Nile  plagued  themselves  with  lasting  dark 
ness  when  they  banished  the  people  whose  leader's  face 


132  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

shone  from  communion  with  Jehovah.  They  clung  to 
some  half  truths,  left  them  by  the  progeny  of  Joseph, 
but  the  half  was  dimmed  by  courted  lusts." 

"But  my  people  had  no  Neb-ta,  no  women  divinities 
to  leave  in  Egypt." 

"  No,  yet  Egypt,  aiming  to  exalt  the  tender,  the  beau 
tiful,  the  mother,  incarnated  certain  virtues,  and  lo,  a 
woman  deity !  It  was  an  effort  to  find  the  '  Rose.' 
The  nation  was  in  a  vast,  serious  pilgrimage  through  all 
their  dynasties  after  an  idea,  a  pattern  ;  an  opportunity 
to  reach  and  to  express  the  best  things.  I  tell  thee, 
Jew,  the  heathen  nations  sit  in  darkness;  this  side 
and  that,  along  the  track  of  time,  holding  here  and 
there  a  torch,  waiting  through  the  night  whose  hours 
are  tolled  off  at  century  intervals,  for  something,  Some 
One.  There  have  passed  before  them  like  phantoms, 
gods  and  gods;  man  invented,  man  evolved  ;  but  none 
of  these  tarried,  none  satisfied.  Oh,  '  the  Isles  wait  for 
thee,'  Jesus,  Thou  Ideal  Man,  and  also  for  the  true  con 
ception  of  Mary  the  ideal  woman  !  " 

"  For  two  Gods?     Is  Mary  divine?  " 

"  Did  I  say  that?  Nay,  as  the  child  Jesus  was  sub 
ject  to  her,  so  she  was  subject  to  the  Christ,  at 
last.  Christ  was  the  Word,  Mary  His  blessed  echo; 
Christ  the  Sun,  Mary  the  Moon  that  reflected  that 
light,  showing  its  beauty  in  woman's  life  !  " 

"  But  now,  what  shall  I  do  with  my  beautiful  fright, 
Neb-ta,  Sir  Charleroy  ?  " 

"  Put  her  away,  in  mind,  amid  the  galaxies  of 
woman  deities;  mythical  in  all  but  the  pitiful  sincerity 
of  the  adoration  of  their  devotees  and  in  the  greatness 
of  the  truths  they  vaguely  articulated.  See,  I'll  inter- 


The  Feast  of  the  Rose.  133 

pret  :  Isis  going  round  the  world  to  gather  up  the 
fragments  of  her  dismembered  husband.  Woman's 
ministry;  the  restoration  of  man  ;  wife  consecration  to 
an  only  love.  Then  there  was  not  only  beautiful  wid 
owhood,  second  only  to  beautiful  wifehood,  but  also 
the  spinister  sister.  Hail  Egypt !  Thy  Sphinx  saw 
further  than  our  peoples  of  boasted  civilizations.  At 
our  best  we  never  rose  so  near  to  a  just  altitude  as  to 
attempt  the  deification  of  the  maiden  sister,  the  omni 
present  angel;  who  mothers  other  people's  children  as 
if  they  were  her  own.  Egypt  worshipped  mother 
hood,  perhaps  grossly,  in  adoring  the  earth's  fructifica 
tions,  but  she  did  not  overlook  those  pious  souls  who 
in  a  glorious  self-abnegation  play  waiting-maids  to  the 
real  queens  of  earth,  the  child-bearers.  I'd  never 
tire  praising  the  child-bearers,  or  all  who  love  them, 
for  they  that  bring  forth  a  life  are  greater  than  the 
greatest  kingly  man-slayer  on  earth.  The  world  is 
upside  down  ;  no  religion  is  wholly  false  that  aids  to 
right  it  in  any  degree.  Hail,  ciceds  of  Egypt,  or  any 
other  land,  that  seek  to  efface  from  fame's  pages  the 
names  of  life-destroyers  that  thereon  may  chiefly 
shine  the  names  of  those  who  give  or  save  life." 

"Oh,  oscillating  Sir  Charleroy,  thou  art  just  and 
courtly  now." 

"Praise  me,  then!  Mankind  would  average  better 
by  far  than  it  does  if  all  were  right  half  the  time." 

"  Would  I  could  gather  all  the  threads  of  to-day's 
blessed  communings  into  a  golden  band  to  support 
over  my  heart  faith's  breastplate/1 

"  I  can  give  thee  its  summary:  God,  a  beauty  Crea 
tor,  out  of  all  things  hideous  in  His  good  Providence 


134 


The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 


will  emerge  the  fine,  tender  and  loving.  Neb-ta,  Egypt's 
ideal,  carried  the  lotus,  the  flower  of  unrestrained 
pleasure,  as  her  scepter ;  Neb-ta-like  the  influences 
that  sway  most  human  hearts  to-day;  but  the  Rose  of 
the  world  has  blossomed.  Mary,  the  flower  of  women. 
They  that  love  and  serve,  as  that  warm,  red-hearted 
woman,  shall  at  last  reign  in  eternal  bliss  within  the 
ruby  walls  of  the  New  Jerusalem." 

"I'm  with  the  knight,  to  proclaim  thy  Rose!" 
A  good  profession!  It  will  be  well  if  we  remember 
that  woman  is  as  essential  to  religion  as  religion  to 
women.  As  for  man  he  needs  the  one  as  the  inter 
preter  of  the  other.  Therefore,  it  was  that  God  sent 
to  earth  a  flower  that  could  talk." 


CHAPTER  X. 

AFTER   EVE,  ESTHER   OR   MARY? 

'  Still  slowly  passed  the  melancholy  day, 
And  still  the  stranger  wist  not  where  to  stray: 
The  world  was  sad — the  Garden  was  a  wild  ; 
And  man,  the  hermit,  sighed — till  woman  smiled." 

— MILTON, 

HE  Israelites,  along  Jabbock,  were  all  aglow 
with  preparation  for  celebrating  one  of 
their  feasts.  Sir  Charleroy  and  his  com 
rade  journeying  along,  in  the  early  morn 
ing,  were  apprised  of  the  advent  of  the  festivities 
by  the  passing  near  them  of  a  company  of  maidens, 
marching  and  chanting.  The  pilgrims  drew  apart  and 
sequestered  themselves  behind  a  clump  of  nubt  trees 
that  they  might  observe,  themselves  unobserved,  the 
graceful  processsion  of  singers. 

"  Well,  my  poet,  didst  thou  conjure  up  these  fairies, 
or  have  we  come  on  the  musk-born  houri  ?  "  Sir  Charle 
roy  spoke  in  an  absent-minded  manner,  perhaps,  with 
an  affectation  of  a  lack  of  very  much  interest.  In  fact, 
long  privation  of  the  presence  of  women  had  somehow 
rusted  from  his  bearing,  in  their  vicinage,  most  of  the 
confident  courtier.  In  a  word,  he  was  now  bashful  in 
their  presence.  He  spoke  with  a  small  witticism  to  sub- 


136  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  Davia. 

due,  his  own  embarrassment.  His  words  were  unheard, 
for  the  Jew  was  all  engaged  in  contemplating  the 
passing  women. 

In  truth,  the  latter  made  a  striking  picture  ;  garbed 
as  they  were,  in  holiday  attire ;  all  young,  oriental  in 
beauty,  and  fresh  in  face,  form  and  action.  They  were 
rural  maidens  and  that  says  all.  It  had  been  a  long 
time  since  either  Ichabod  or  Sir  Charleroy  had  met 
such  types  of  womanhood ;  all  free  from  affectation  ; 
all  natural  and  graceful  in  motion  ;  a  band  of  women, 
as  sisters,  bent  to  one  purpose  and  that  a  lofty  one, 
the  proper  observance  of  a  joyous,  pious,  religious  cere 
monial. 

Presently  Ichabod  drew  a  long  breath  and  raptur 
ously  exclaimed :  "  Praise  be  to  the  Patriachs,  my 
people ! " 

"I'd  rather  say,  Ichabod,  praise  the  Patriarch's 
daughters,  if  these  be  human  !  ' 

"  Ha,  ha  !  flesh,  indeed  !  Our  Hebrew  maidens  cele 
brating  the  Feast  of  Esther  !  " 

"  Are  they  praying  God  for  Adams,  so  that  each 
Esther  and  Vashti  may  have  one  all  to  herself?  If  so, 
we  are  part  answers  to  their  prayers." 

"  Hush  such  jest  !  These  be  holy  maidens,  now  hon 
oring  our  Esther.  Thou  knowest  about  her?" 

"  Certainly ;  she  was  my  heroine  before  Our  Lady 
dethroned  in  my  heart  all  others.  I  was  wont  to  wish 
I'd  been  about  in  Hainan's  time.  I'd  have  aroused 
that  old  dotard,  Ahasuerus,  right  quickly.  By  the 
sackcloth  of  Mordecai,  if  I'd  been  the  king,  the 
hanging  would  have  put  the  Haman  family  into 
mourning  long  before  it  did." 


After  Eve,  Esther  or  Mary.  137 

"Oh,  how  like  angels  !  It'syears  since  I  saw  a  woman 
other  than  as  deflowered  by  harem  life.  Heavens, 
what  a  spoiler  man  is  at  his  worst !  " 

"  Dost  forget  Nourahmal  ?  But  no  matter  ;  I  admire, 
and  wonder  that  some  roving  band  of  Arabs,  with 
less  piety,  or  more  force  than  we,  does  not  swoop  down 
upon  these  innocents  for  seraglio  prizes.  Perhaps 
these  have  the  liveried  angels  about,  that  are  said  ever 
to  guard  saintly  purity." 

oubtless;  and  besides  them,  with  all  the  practical 
providence  which  belongs  to  the  Jew,  thou  mayst  be 
sure  that  the  groves,  not  far  away,  are  full  of  fathers, 
brothers,  lovers." 

"  I  wish  I  were  a  brother  to  some  of  them." 

"  Then  thou'dst  be  a  Jew." 

"  I'd  forget  that  in  being  a  lover  to  the  others." 

"  Thou  wouldst  not  change  thy  faith  for  a  woman  ?" 

"  Now,  I'd  swear  I  would  not.  If  like  most  men, 
and  in  love,  I'd  swear  I  would  ;  and  then,  having  gotten 
my  new  priestess,  in  a  little  while,  backslide  and  drag 
her  with  me,  or  make  her  heart  weep.  My  comfort  in 
the  last  estate  being  my  consistency,  if  not  my  con 
stancy.  What  a  mad  rout  it  is  when  religion  and  love, 
born  twins,  cross  purposes?" 

"  That's  a  very  true,  yet  bitter  speech.  I'll  tell  the 
Hebrew  maidens  to  beware." 

"  Better  tell  me  to  beware,  now.  It's  the  beginning 
that  makes  the  trouble.  No  beginning,  then  no  after 
folly." 

The  procession  glided  past  and  the  pilgrims  fol 
lowed  at  a  distance. 

"  We  are  within  an  arm  of  dear  old  Jabbock,"  re- 


138  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

marked  Ichabod,  as  they  came  to  a  river-bank,  later. 

"  Ah,  ha  !  my  chartless  pilot,  does  the  current  whis 
per  its  name  to  thee,  in  Hebrew?  I'd  not  wonder  if  it 
did,  since  every  thing  is  clannish  in  this  country. — I 
hope  there  is  no  more  swimming  for  us  to  do." 

"  Its  tumbling  waters  are  full  of  voices  tome,  blend 
ing  with  echoes  of  things  of  the  past  ;  but  one  who 
spoke  a  thousand  times  more  tenderly  than  ever  spoke 
murmuring  waters,  told  me  its  name,  knight." 

"  Nourahmal  ?  No  !  rather  some  one  of  those  pious 
beauties  we  passed  not  long  ago.  Oh,  roguish  Icha 
bod,  I  remember  thou  wert  away  a  long  time  in  the 
morning  after  our  breakfast  of  peas  and  grapes.  But, 
dear  Ichabod,"  continued  Sir  Charleroy,  feigning 
rebuke,  "  didst  thou  so  soon  forget  thy  little  convert 
of  Jericho?  I  wonder  if  thou  lifted  up  thy  voice 
and  wept  when  thou  kissed  the  maid  that  told  thee 
the  river's  name  ?  Come,  confess,  and  I'll  call  thee 
Isaac." 

"  Raillery  of  prime  quality,  knight ;  but  raillery  and 
ridicule,  though  keenly  pointed,  are  generally  bad  ar 
rows  for  long  range." 

"  Well,  no  matter.  I'm  glad  thou  knowest  the  place, 
if  thou  dost  know  it.  Who  told  thee  the  name  of  this 
water  ?  " 

"  One  with  a  voice  to  me  sweeter,  kinder  than  that 
of  any  betrothed  lover's  ever  can  be." 

"  Very,  very  eloquent  thou  art.  Indeed,  if  we  were 
in  Italy,  I'd  guess  'twas  a  syren  had  communed  with 
thee;  in  France,  a  Crusader  troubadour  ;  in  Rhineland, 
the  water  sprite,  Lurline  ;  but,  being  in  this  wondrous 
country  of  revelations,  apparitions,  prophets,  angels 


After  Eve,  Esther  or  Mary.  1 39 

and  the  like,  I  can  only  as  a  catechumen,  ask  thy  duL 
cot  informer's  name?" 

"  How  oddly  thou  dost  talk  when  thou  talkest  as  z 
double  man;  half  sneering  infidel;  half  Christian 
preacher." 

"  A  truce,  Ichabod.  That  may  be  a  home-thrust  well 
aimed,  but  it's  enough  that  one  of  us  be  bitter.  It's 
sometimes  natural  to  me,  but  not  to  thee." 

"A  bee-sting  will  redden  the  high  priest's  brow." 

';  Well,  I'll  not  sting  thee.  Who  gave  the  name  of 
the  river?  " 

"  Master,  one  to  me  alone  of  all  the  world  an  angel, 
my  mother.  I  was  born  near  here,  and  the  memories 
of  a  youth  made  happy  by  one  all  patient,  all  loving, 
rises  above  and  survives  all  changes." 

"  My  noble  friend,  forgive  my  repartee.  I'm  glad, 
truly,  that  we  are  ?.o  lucky  as  to  have  this  knowledge." 

"Lucky?  Then  all  is  not  fate  ;  there  is  some  chance, 
if  no  Providence?  " 

"  Pardon  more  ;  the  bee-sting  is  still  on  thy  brow. 
Ichabod,  I  can  not  help  my  feelings,  which  sometimes 
make  me  think  that  only  God  can  tread  the  hidden, 
narrow  line  between  stern  fate  and  happy  accident. 
They  say  the  Sybil  wrote  her  prophetic  decrees  upon 
leaves  and  flung  them  recklessly  to  the  inconstanf 
winds.  Just  so  we're  in  decreed  courses,  swirled  by 
chance  gusts." 

"Yet  we  two  are  getting  on  well  together." 

"  So  do  chance  and  fate  ;  the  pity  is  to  the  waif  that 
falls  between  them." 

"  I  wonder  how  here,  in  Holy  Land,  thou  canst  think 
of  any  control  but  Providence." 


140  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

6  Wonder?     So  do  I.     I'm  a  bundle  of  wonderings." 

"  Listen  to  Jabbock." 

"  I  do,  more  attentively  than  Jabbock  to  me.  What 
of  it?" 

"  Grander  rivers  are  forgotten ;  why  is  it  so  remem 
bered?" 

"  We're  forgotten,  meaner  men  remembered." 

"This  river  sings  through  the  centuries  of  history 
the  song  of  a  fugitive  of  pale  heart,  who  in  sheer 
desperation,  long,  long  ago,  seized  a  fleeting  hope  and 
became  a  prince,  having  power  to  prevail  with  God." 

"  Ah,  Jacob,  who  worked  fourteen  years  to  win  a 
woman.  It  was,  I'm  sure,  the  woman  that  nerved  him 
to  attempt  greatness.  Such  a  woman  !  Had  she  been 
like  our  moderns  she  would  have  jilted  him,  or  eloped 
with  him,  before  the  end  of  one  of  the  fourteen  years." 

"I'll  not  tilt  with  thy  sarcasms.  It  were  much  bet 
ter  to  remember  that  he,  a  pigmy,  the  night  in  his  soul, 
as  that  about  him,  black  as  Erebus,  grappled  with  the 
mighty,  unknown,  unseen  apparition  to  find  he  was 
holding  Deity.  The  mysteries  of  crossing  fates  and 
chances  are  as  open  nut-bur  compared  to  that  of  ail 
weakness  prevailing  with  Omnipotence,  my  good  mas 
ter,  I  think." 

"  But  ever  after  that  joust,  Jacob  was  a  cripple  !  " 

"  Oh,  but  remember,  as  he  halted  on  his  thigh  the 
sun  rose  over  Penuel, '  the  place  of  seeing  God/  by  inter 
pretation.  He  was  stronger  for  his  laming  !  " 

"A  very  'Timor-lame,'  this  prince  of  great  chances 
and  mean  ways." 

"  Time  and  trial  repaired  Jacob's  spotted  soul." 
There  was  much  room  for  the  mending,  I  do  vow." 


After  Eve,  Esther  or  Mary.  141 

"  His  weightings  bespeak  some  charity.  Think  ;  a 
weak  mother,  one  designing  wife,  and  plenty  of  wealth !  " 

"Well,  'tis  true,  these  were  enough  to  have  undone 
St.  Anthony,  if  the  devil  had  only  thought  to  have  tried 
them  all  at  once  upon  him  !  " 

"  Sir  Charleroy  swings  back  to  his  old  bitterness  to 
ward  women  ;  did  he  never  love  one  ?  " 

"  No,  not  as  a  lover.  I  was  never  tried  except  by 
designing  coquetries  that  nauseated  finally." 

"  Perhaps,  like  most  solitary  men,  thou  so  revered 
thyself  by  habit  that  there  was  no  room  for  other  per 
son  in  thy  heart." 

"  I  never  met  one  I  deemed  perfect  and  available." 

"  Better  to  have  loved  some  one  far  from  perfect 
than  none.  If  thy  heart-fount  had  been  once  touched 
it  would  have  set  thy  imaginations  to  weaving  halos 
about  the  one  touching.  Thou  wouldst  have  enthroned 
her  by  a  love  that  would  have  transformed  both.  She 
would  have  become  in  time  what  she  was  in  love's 
young  dream  ;  while  thou  wouldst  have  grown  by  the 
experience  to  be  twice  the  man  thou  hadst  been — or 
art." 

"The  sun  in  thy  head  is  settling  down  into  thy 
heart,  Jew." 

"  Is  that  so,  Charleroy?  " 

"  Yes,  but  not  to  harm ;  heart  sunsets  ripen  heart 
fruits  ;  that's  the  reason  the  autumn  suns  run  low;  the 
low  suns  ripen.     But  after  all,  I'm  not  so  very  miserable 
in  heart.      I've  loved  some  women ;  mother  and  my 
Mary— 

"  Filial  love,  religious  love !  somewhat  akin  and 
blessing  him  that  feels  their  mellow,  exalting  influences : 


142  The  Queen  of  t lie  House  of  David. 

but,  oh,  Sir  Charleroy,  they  do  not  fill  completely  the 
heart's  temple.  There  are  places  there  for  the  expres 
sion  of  ruddy,  glorious  lover's  love.  The  three  make 
up  an  all-comprehending  trinity,  and  fill  the  man  as 
Deity  the  universe.  I  see  religious  love  in  adoration  of 
God's  Fatherhood,  mother  love  in  the  tender  leading 
of  the  Spirit,  lover's  love  in  the  priceless  self-surren 
der  of  our  Saviour.  That  made  the  angels  sing,  and  in 
the  being  of  each  of  our  race  there  is  room,  aye  need, 
of  the  melody  which  only  the  experiencing  of  this  pas 
sion  in  full  can  produce.  In  love-mating  is  a  won 
drous  thrill  which  can  be  but  faintly  voiced  even  by 
those  who  have  experienced  it. 

"  There  are  other  passions  which  ebb  with  time,  or, 
being  well  fed,  wax  gross;  not  so  with  this  one.  In 
spired  by  the  potencies  of  life,  which  lie  at  the  very 
core  of  being,  it  wells  up  in  rills,  rivers  and  torrents  of 
pleasurable  sensations.  Out  from  the  heart  it  goes  to 
the  remotest  members,  only  to  double  on  its  courses 
and  dash  again  through  the  beating  heart,  heat 
ing  its  flame  by  its  doubling  and  hasting,  making  the 
beatings  wilder  by  its  Hastings,  and  then  hasting  more 
because  of  the  wilder  beatings.  Of  all  emotions  love 
is  the  most  tireless.  It  increases  by  giving,  grows 
stronger  by  action  and  proclaims  the  secret  of  its  heav 
enly  birth,  its  immortality,  by  the  way  in  which  it 
deepens  and  ripens  with  every  movement  of  its  life. 
Aye,  more,  it  proclaims  itself  the  power  of  the  resur 
rection  by  the  way  it  transforms  the  lives  it  possesses. 
A  man  may  be  a  lout,  ever  so  crude  in  fiber,  but  this 
musical  flame  passing  through  his  being,  burns  up  his 
dross,  making  him  all  brave,  courteous,  tender,  poetic, 


After  Eve,  Esther  or  Mary  143 

religious!  Yea,  religious  !  If  it  do  not  utterly  redeem 
a  sinner  possessed  by  it,  it  will  take  him  nearer  to  sal 
vation  than  any  other  power  known  on  earth,  except 
the  Spirit  of  Grace.  It  is  as  the  opening  of  the  eyes 
of  the  blind  man,  for  it  opens  the  doors  of  a  new  sense 
to  the  realizing  of  a  world  as  new  as  delightful.  As 
the  thrummings  on  the  harp-strings  someway  leave 
a  lasting  sonorousness  and  tenderness  in  the  sup 
porting  woods  about  the  lyre,  so  leaves  this  passion, 
through  the  beatings  of  every  wave  of  it,  wealth.  Its 
devotee  by  it  is  inducted  into  exhaustless  new  realms 
and  possessions,  unalterably  secured  to  him,  and  at 
the  same  time  beyond  all  computation.  He  ever  gath 
ers  treasures,  as  a  prince  from  incoming  fleets,  and  is 
made  affluent  beyond  all  counting.  He  surpasses  all 
in  wealth-getting,  and  yet  is  infinitely  apart  from  the 
littleness  of  avarice.  It  \->  to  him  the  advent  of  char 
ity's  full-orbed  day.  It  may  be  fancy  in  him,  but  it's  to 
him  very  real  ;  the  world  about,  as  if  having  learned  his 
secret,  seems  to  be  dressing  for  the  wedding  feast, 
while  all  things  appear  to  becoming  very  confidentially 
to  him  to  whisper  the  divine  mandate,  '  marry  and  mul 
tiply.'  He  is  trusted, yet  trusts;  leads,  yet  follows.  He 
is  proud  to  display,  a  little,  his  conquest,  but  does  so 
with  a  sort  of  alert  charming  selfishness,  which  gives 
notice  to  tl;e  world  that  he  alone  is  to  wear  the  chosen 
one  upon  his  heart.  He  realizes  the  paradox  of  giving 
all  and  receiving  all  ;  the  mystery  of  two  lives  merged 
into  one  by  an  utter  surrender,  each  to  each,  which 
leaves  both  infinitely  richer  than  the  sum  of  all  their 
ownings  could  make  either  if  possessed  by  the  one 
apart  from  the  other.  Oh,  how  almost  imperiously  each 


144  The  Queen  of  tJic  House  of  David. 

demands  that  the  other  shall  surrender  all  and  then 
how  great  the  joy  each  feels  in  leading  the  chosen  mate 
to  surprises  at  the  munificence  and  completeness  of  the 
giving  up  of  all  by  the  one  who  just  now  demanded  all 
I  do  not  know  the  woman's  heart,  but  can  readily  be 
lieve  it  far  surpasses  the  man's  in  its  consecration,  en 
joyment  and  aspiring.  I  know  the  man's,  but  my 
words  are  ragged  in  description.  I  know  that  this 
grand  passion  makes  him  wondrously  weak  and  wond- 
rously  strong.  Sometimes  these  inner  feelings  come 
nigh  overwhelming  him;  sometimes  they  fall  upon  his 
life  like  the  musical  ebb-waves  on  resonant  shores.  I 
can  not  word  it  all,  nor  is  it  strange,  since  I  am  speaking 
of  a  life  of  heavenly  flights,  and  best  expressed  by 
voiceless  signs,  embraces.  In  love's  hour  the  man  real 
izes,  as  never  before,  his  lordliness  and  his  pride  and 
ambition  are  fed  by  a  growing  conviction  that  all 
the  world  is  small  beside  himself  and  his  ;  proud  as  a 
conqueror  of  untold  wealth,  he  yields  to  the  tender 
ties  that  unrelentingly  bind  him  and  crucifies  his  native 
roughness  that  he  may  be  more  like,  more  worthy  her 
he  rules  and  obeys.  He  is  made  finer  ;  she  stronger. 
Has  she  virtues,  he  appropriates  them  ;  at  the  same  time, 
by  the  homage  implied  by  his  appropriation,  makes 
them  to  shine  more  brightly  on  the  brow  and  heart 
of  his  queen.  He  touches  the  fires  on  the  altar  she  has 
erected  within  herself  to  love  alone,  and  the  altar-fires 
blaze  until  her  whole  being  is  illuminated  as  a  temple  on 
fete  days.  She  puts  on  his  best  parts,  and  then  he  rev. 
els  in  delight  as  he  beholds  his  virtues  refined  and  so 
beautifully  framed.  There  arc  times  when,  like  a  mighty 
anthem,  his  passion  passes  over  and  through  him.  Then 


After  Eve,  Esther  or  Mary.  145 

is  he  nigh  to  madness,  being  in  the  mood  to  slay  him 
self,  or  another  doing  aught  to  check  the  rapture  of  thd 
mighty  swellings  of  the  music  that  pours  over  every 
nerve  from  head  to  heart,  to  limb.  Then  it  is  he  em< 
braces  and  kisses  and  embraces  again  ;  as  an  inspired 
artist  of  music,  exhausting  himself  to  prolong  this  joy, 
almost  materialized.  Indeed,  I  saw  one  who  said  'this 
is  tangible  music.  I  feel  it  ;  taste  it ;  see  it!  It  seems 
to  thicken  the  air  until  I  rise  unvvinged,  and  yet  in  a 
flight  that  seems  to  me  as  free  and  brilliant  as  that  of 
the  golden  oriole's.  If  the  enchanted  enchanter  be 
pure  and  true,  she  leads  her  captive  king,  made  tended 
and  yet  more  manly  by  his  captivity,  surely  upward  from 
tumultous  passion's  sway  to  the  ambrosial  table-lands  ol 
higher  affection  where  both  may  reign  tenderly,  bravely, 
hopefully,  forever.  I  tell  thee,  knight,  the  finest  speo 
tacle  on  earth  is  a  man  in  his  prime,  creation's  lord  at 
his  best,  sincerely,  completely  in  love  with  a  queenly 
woman.  Next  after  getting  God  into  a  man's  heart, 
the  greatest  blessing  is  the  getting  of  a  woman  of  genu- 
ine  parts  therein." 

"  Oh,  child  of  the  sunny  palm  land,  thou  hast  imbibed 
wondrous  eloquence.  But  thou  sayest  truly.  Now,  for 
the  women  that  are  so  to  queen  us  men.  No  woman 
that  I  ever  knew  of  could  so  intoxicate,  transform  and 
translate  me." 

"  One  like  Eve,  the  gift  of  God  ?  " 

"  The  first  woman,  like  the  first  man,  was  pure  with 
out  virtue,  until  tried  ;  then  she  fell.  I  think  of  her 
chiefly  as  being  a  splendid  animal,  yet,  as  Adam  was 
not  left  for  man's  example,  neither  was  she.  I  still  think 
Eve  passed  by  in  history  to  be  cnly  what  she  was  full 


146  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

proof  that  love  which  rises  no  higher  than  to  give  all 
to  and  for  that  which  was  like  the  fruit  of  the  tempting 
tree,  good  for  food  and  pleasant  to  the  eyes,  is  not  like 
the  love  that  at  last  hung  on  the  tree  of  Calvary.  Oh, 
child  of  Abraham,  I  hear  the  '  -voice  of  God  walking  in 
the  garden  in  the  cool  of  the  day'  saying  to  a  world  of 
flitting,  false  ideals,  and  those  yearning  for  pilots  and 
patterns,  '  Where  art  thou  ?  '  I  don't  know,  for  one, 
exactly  where  I  am,  but  I'm  going  forward  and  upward 
someway." 

"  Sir  Charleroy  thou  dost  dazzle  me  by  thy  corre 
spondences  and  insights,  if  I  do  thee  by  my  pictures. 
We  are  quits." 

"  But  we'll  not  quit.  This  pilgrim  idleness  has  value. 
I  never  knew  what  I  believed  until,  thus  flung  out  of 
life's  hurly  burly,  I  had  little  company  but  my  thoughts. 
There  was  method  of  reason  in  God's  taking  His  proph 
ets  to  lone  places,  to  fit  them  for  understanding  the 
rapturing  visions  with  which  He  filled  them." 

"  'Tis  so,  true;  but  what  thinks  the  knight  of  Esther, 
the  beautiful  Queen  ?  She's  the  idol  and  ideal  in 
Israel  in  all  times  and  places." 

"  Wondrous  woman  !  A  girl,  petted,  ill-trained,  from 
poverty  suddenly  exalted,  surrounded  by  the  skilled 
intriguants  of  court,  a  jealous,  exacting,  conceited, 
harem-demoralized  old  king  for  a  spouse,  she  was  then 
burdened  with  the  salvation  of  a  nation.  I've  so  pitied 
her  that  I've  forgotten  to  admire  how  well  she  did  in 
her  trying  lot." 

"Can  the  world  ever  have  a  finer  figure  or  present 
ment  of  all  that  is  womanly?  I  do  not  challenge  thy 
Mary,  but  may  I  not  put  the  two  side  by  side?" 


After  Eve,  Esther  or  Mary.  147 

"Israel  has  two  great  women  in  their  way.  The 
one,  Esther,  exemplifying  all  sweetness  and  the  mild 
strength  of  a  suddenly  developed  woman,  doing  grandly 
in  one  emergency  when  great  peril  and  great  love 
aroused  her  from  only  being  an  entrancing,  petted 
beauty,  to  be  the  heroine  of  an  hour.  But  she  was  not 
tried  by  the  searching  test  of  a  lifetime.  She  never 
meets  the  needs  of  mothers  seeking  an  ideal.  Rizpah, 
your  other  grand  woman,  was  the  mother,  even  the 
mother  of  sorrows,  of  the  Old  Testament.  It  takes 
these  two  to  make  an  ideal,  and  yet  the  pattern  is 
incomplete.  God  walks  yet  in  the  garden  where  men 
live,  with  only  these  two  before  them,  and  ever  and 
anon  they  hear  the  unanswerable,  '  Where  art  tJiou  ?  ' 

"  Why,  my  mentor,  master,  thou  hast  touched  our 
Scriptures  with  the  rod  that  budded;  the  whole  opens 
to  me  as  if  for  the  first  time.  Methinks,  if  I  were  per 
mitted  to  lay  hands  now  upon  one  of  our  sacred  volumes, 
I'd  be  fairly  overcome  by  the  light  that  would  break 
out  on  me  from  within  it." 

"  'The  entrance  of  the  word  giveth  light,'  Ichabod." 
"  I'm  moved,  master,  along  lines  I  can  not  turn  from, 
to    the    one    woman   of    all,    Mary.      She   is  thy   ideal 
queen  of  hearts?  " 

"  I'm  a  pilgrim  and  follow  her,  seeing  none  better." 

"  Then  thou  wouldst  be  willing  to  wed  such  as  Mary  ?  " 

"Hold!     This    is    sacrilegious!      I'll   not    think    of 

Mary  in  any  such  comparison.     Leave  my  patron  saint 

upon  her  high  pedestal.    I  save  her  for  my  soul's  health, 

as   every  man  should  save  some   noble  woman,  for  an 

inner  enshrining,  to  be  all  that  woman   may  be  at   her 

best,    his    beloved,    his  inspirer,  and  yet  touching  no 


1 48  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

spring  of  his  life  save  such  as  responds  to  things  of 
moral  grandeur." 

"  Ah,  master,  I've  not  yet  been  enamored  fully  of 
this  woman.  I  feel  a  stranger  to  her,  but  I  feel  the 
meaning  of  the  finer  things  thou  hast  just  spoken.  I 
have  the  need  of  which  thou  dost  speak,  and  my  life, 
like  a  babe,  often  now  goes  out  crying,  '  Mother, 
mother.'  As  we  lay,  yesterday  night,  beneath  the 
quiet  firmament,  I  gazed  up  and  asked  a  sign  of  God 
in  prayer.  It  was  a  baby  cry  I  know,  but  I  saw  one 
star  that  staid  and  staid  above  me.  It  seemed  to  be 
warmed  with  reddish  tintings,  and  I  thought  that  its 
glitterings  were  proof  that  it  was  taking  part  in  some 
anthem  of  the  morning  stars.  Then  I  dreamed  that 
my  mother  was  in  the  star  all  luminous,  holy,  happy, 
looking  down  in  constant  guardianship  of  her  outcast 
boy!  Oh,  can  a  child  ever  be  outcast  utterly  to 
mother  ?  Can  it  be  that  she,  who  so  loved  me  and  so 
loved  God,  can  hate  me  now,  loving  her  and  loving  God 
as  I  do  ?  God  knows  my  heart !  Will  he  not  tell  her 
all  ?  Her  constant  mandate  to  me  was,  '  keep  a  loyal 
heart,  an  undefiled  conscience.'  I've  tried  to  do  both, 
but  then  her  soul  loathed  apostacy.  Does  she  loathe 
me  for  leaving  Israel's  fold  ?  My  heart  all  torn,  cries 
to-day,  '  Mother,  mother !  '  I'm  sure  she  can  not  hate 
me.  To-morro\v  I  hope  I  shall  pray  at  her  grave." 

Then  the  vehement  Israelite  fell  on  the  ground  in 
an  ecstasy,  utterly  unconscious  of  his  companion,  and, 
kissing  the  earth  as  if  already  he  was  by  that  parent's 
resting  place,  wildly  called,  "Mother!  my  mamma! 
oh,  I'm  so  lonely,  so  unhappy!  Let  me  come  !  God, 
God,  let  me  go  to  mother!  Mother,  I  did  it  as  thou 


After  Eve,  Esther  or  Mary.  149 

jaidst.  I'm  no  leper.  I'm  not  a  heretic  !  I  love  thee. 
I  love  God.  I've  kept  pure.  I've  trusted  God's  care 
in  all  my  trouble.  Mamma,  my  mamma,  let  Ichabod 
embrace  thee!  "  Exhausted  and  quivering  he  there  lay. 
The  knight  was  silent.  It  was  holy  ground,  and  the 
whole  thicket  about  seemed  to  be  glowing  with  the  fire 
that  burns  without  consuming. 

The  travelers  were  encamped  again  under  the  sky, 
and  it  was  now  night.  A  shooting  star  sped  through 
the  constellation  of  Orion  and  fell  down  toward  the 
Dead  Sea. 

"  An  omen,  Jew." 

"  Explain,  brother  knight." 

"  Life  ;  bright,  short,  ending  in  gloom." 

"  Look  at  the  fixed  stars." 

"  They  preach  fate." 

"  Perhaps,  but  they  have  the  majority.  Few  fall ;  I 
think,  too,  Someone  holds  them." 

"Thy  hopefulness  colors  thy  faith." 

"  Thy  inurmurings  run  toward  fina1  madness,  knight  ; 
the  Rabbis,  good  men,  so  taught  me." 

"If  one  star  falls  may  not  all?  If  Providence  hold 
them,  why  does  one  escape  ?  " 

"  Thou  hast  heard  that  the  giant  Orion  having  lost  his 
eyes,  afterward  regained  his  sight  by  turning  his 
sockets  toward  the  rising  sun  ;  that  meteor  we  saw  shot 
through  the  constellation  Orion.  Look  up." 

"  A  happy  simile  and  pungent  thrust,  Jew." 

"  He  that  sent  the  lightnings  to  show  us  our  way 
out  of  dread  Jericho,  most  likely  now  commissioned 
some  angel  to  swing  a  meteor  across  the  sky  as  a 
torch  or  beacon  for  our  guidance.  The  trail  of  flame 


150  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

teaches  me  that  God  is  writing  His  royal  signature  on 
some  great  message." 

"  This  world  is  too  vast  and  too  thronged  with  in- 
significants,  such  as  we,  for  such  especial  carings  on 
God's  part.  There  are  too  many  kings,  too  many 
shepherds,  too  many  follies  for  Him  to  constantly 
watch  any  one  or  two." 

"Backward,  forward  ;  now  good,  now  bad.  What  a 
charging,  changing  knight !  Pray  God  to  get  thee 
right  and  then  fix  thee." 

Their  converse  was  interrupted  by  a  prolonged 
trumpet  blast,  echoing  from  hill  to  hill.  Sir  Charle- 
roy  sprang  to  his  feet  and  clasping  his  sword  hilt,  cried 
eagerly,  "  We're  ambuscaded  !  " 

"  No,  by  the  glory  of  God,  'twas  the  temple  call ! 
How  grand  it  sounds  away  in  this  wilderness ! " 

"  No,  no,  Jew,  I've  heard  that  call  ;  this  one  had  six 
responses." 

"  Twas  echo's  magic  !  Didst  thou  not  notice  how 
the  sound  spread  as  it  traveled  in  a  sort  of  sheet 
of  melody  ?  Then  it  rose  and  fell  from  low  hill 
to  high.  One  blast ;  seven  responses.  Nature  pro 
claiming  against  fate  and  chance ;  the  covenant  num 
ber." 

"  I'm  not  so  confident  that  it's  a  miracle  ;  what  if  it 
were  some  Mamelukes  or  Druses,  planning  one  of 
their  pious  immolations  of  heretics  with  us  for  the 
victims?" 

"  Nay,  brother,  It's  '  Purim'  \  that  feast  is  now  due, 
and  always  begins  at  early  starlight.  I  know  it. 
Come,  I'll  put  it  to  the  proof." 

"  Hold ;   poets   are    more    rash    than    knights   in    a 


After  Eve,  Esther  or  Mary.     -.  151 

charge,  but  not  so  skillful  in  retreat  !     Whither  wouldst 
thou  ?" 
"I'll  spy  out  the  trumpeters  and  report." 

"  Not  alone.  I'll  go,  too.  This  camp  will  care  for 
itself  if  they  beyond  be  friends ;  if  enemies,  why  then, 
without  consulting  us.  they  will  care  for  all  we  have. 
But  this,"  said  the  knight,  toying  with  his  sword, 
"  was  blessed  by  a  priest  to  preach  to  infidels 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE   FEAST   OF   PURIM. 

TEALTHILY  Ichabod,  followed  by  Sit 
Charleroy,  approached  the  place  from 
which  the  trumpet  call  had  sounded.  The 
foliage  was  dense,  the  necessary  way  some 
what  winding,  and  these  circumstances,  together  with 
the  fact  that  it  was  expedient  to  move  with  great 
caution,  made  the  progress  of  the  explorers  very  slow. 
The  last  ray  of  day  had  faded,  sung  away  by  the  even 
ing  bird  and  insect  chorusers,  whose  concert  strains, 
like  the  vanishing  notes  of  aeolian  harps  swept  by 
dying  breezes,  were  now  blending,  without  a  line  to 
mark  the  place  of  transition,  into  the  lull  of  the  night. 
Nature's  lullaby  to  tired,  drowsy  life.  It  was  a  witch 
ing  hour  in  the  woods,  and  the  scene  that  lay  just 
beyond  the  pilgrims  in  an  opening  by  Jabbock  was  an 
enchantment.  The  river,  reflecting  the  moon  rays  and 
the  lights  of  torches  borne  by  many  intermingling 
feasters,  flowed  silently  along  like  a  stream  of  mingled 
silver  and  fire,  while  tree  and  shrub  along  its  sides,  as 
green  as  green  could  be,  bore  as  fruits  lights  of  many 
colors.  In  the  opening,  surrounded  by  beacons,  ban 
ners  and  the  lamp-bearing  trees,  the  beauty  as  well  as 
the  center  of  all  was  a  magnificent  patriarchal  tent, 
made  of  costly  materials.  About  the  pavilion  were 
mounds  of  earth,  elevated  upon  high  tripods,  seven 


The  Feast  of  Pur im.  153 

in  all,  in  symbols  of  the  seven  temple  candle-sticks. 
On  each  mound  there  blazed  a  fire  fed  by  resinous  fag 
gots,  and  the  lights  of  the  fires  falling  upon  the  folds 
of  the  tent,  caught  up  here  and  there  by  bands  of  blue 
and  gold,  made  the  whole  glisten  like  jeweled  silk. 

"  Hallelujah,"  with  suppressed  joy,  exclaimed  Icha- 
bod,  "  the  tabernacle  of  God  with  men  !  " 

"  Hush,  rash  man,  and  watch  !"  rebukingly  replied 
Sir  Charleroy. 

"Watch?  Why,  my  soul  is  in  my  eyes.  I'm  as 
cne  famished  for  years  smelling  a  feast!  " 

As  they  looked  on  the  beautiful  scene,  they  per 
ceived  that  the  front  of  the  pavilion  was  lifted  up  and 
stretched  forward  as  a  canopy  over  an  altar,  richly 
decorated  with  twined  olive  branches  and  blood-red 
blossoms.  A  little  way  off,  and  yet  partly  encircling 
the  altar,  were  little  walnut  trees,  each  tree  having  on 
its  branches  glistening  lamps,  half  hidden  by  wreaths  of 
hollyhocks  and  asters. 

The  moon  sank  behind  the  hills  •  the  night  dark 
ened,  but  the  fires  and  lamps  burned  still  more 
brightly. 

11  It's  like  fairy-land,  Jew,"  after  little,  spake  Sir 
Charleroy. 

"  More  beautiful,  knight.     Wait  and  see." 

There  was  a  burst  of  music,  instantly  followed  by 
the  entrance  of  youths  and  old  men  ;  some  singing, 
others  vigorously  playing  ugabs,  reed-flutes,  and  tam 
bourines.  Somewhere  near,  though  unseen  by  the 
watchers,  were  happy  women  ;  they  recognized  their 
voices  in  refrains,  choruses,  and  merry  peals  of  laughter. 

"Well,  this  is  not  warlike,  but  what  is  it,  Jew?" 
queried  Sir  Charleroy. 


154  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  Dai'id. 

"Wait  a  little." 

There  came  a  commanding  trumpet  blast.  Its  tones 
died  away  in  the  melody- \vaves  of  a  score  of  violsy 
managed  by  unperceived  musicians.  Then  silence ; 
presently  the  huge  blue  curtain  that  hung  across  the 
tent,  just  back  of  the  outstretching  front  canopy,  parted, 
and  there  emerged  an  aged  man  of  stately  form,  wear 
ing  an  Aaronic  mitre  and  priestly  robes;  rich  as  well  as 
ample.  He  paused  before  the  altar  a  moment,  as  if  in 
prayer,  and  then  suddenly  the  air  far  and  wide 
quivered  with  a  sound  like  a  cyclone  hail.  There  were 
also  cornet  blasts  mingling  therewith. 

"  Heavens,  Jew,  explain  !  " 

"  Selah  !  These  the  drums  and  waking  clappers  ;  the 
signal  to  be  given.  Now  for  '  Purim '  in  earnest." 

The  groves  about  seemed  to  be  alive  and  moving, 
for  from  every  direction  toward  the  center  gathered 
men  and  boys,  bearing  palm  branches  and  torches  ; 
these,  as  they  advanced,  moved  with  speeded  pace  , 
presently  they  were  in  a  perfect  maze,  the  music  of 
every  kind  growing  louder  and  louder,  then  seeming  to 
die  away. 

"They're  carrying  the  edicts  of  Ahasuerus  to  the 
Jews  to  defend  themselves,  master." 

"  A  fine  play,  Jew  !  " 

Now  the  blue  curtain  parted  again,  and  from  thc- 
pavilion  emerged  another  stately  form,  in  all  except  that 
he  lacked  priestly  robing,  the  very  counterpart  of  the 
aged  man  first  at  the  altar. 

"  Glory  to  Shaddah  !  again  I  see  the  holy  brothers, 
Harrimai,"  cried  Ichabod. 

The  second  patriarch  motioned  silence  ;  all  in  the 
assembly  bent  their  heads  in  breathless  attention  and 


The  Feast  of  Purim.  1 5  5 

the  patriarch  spoke  :  "  Brethren  of  Israel,  hearken  and 
give  God  all  the  gloiy  who  this  hour  permits  us,  His 
chosen  people,  to  celebrate  in  peace,  with  joy,  our 
glad  Furim  feast.  This  day,  Jehovah  granted  me  the 
most  wholesome  comfort  of  hearing  from  a  pashaw  of 
our  scourge  that  the  last  of  the  armies  of  the  Moslem, 
beaten  by  want  and  internal  discord,  were  melting  out 
of  our  land  like  fog  banks  before  the  rising  sun.  He 
certified  to  me  for  a  handful  of  barley  (for  which  he 
had  come  to  stand  in  need)  that  those  hated  cross- 
bearing  invaders,  the  knights,  were  gone,  never  to  re 
turn.  So  God  has  worked  in  our  behalf  as  in  the  days 
of  Esther,  setting  our  enemies  to  destroying  one  another 
and  then  compassing  the  slinging  out  of  His  holy 
places,  the  abominable  remnants.  So  may  His  thun 
ders,  as  of  old,  forever  beat  on  the  heads  of  all  who  lift 
themselves  against  our  Israel  !  " 

There  was  a  murmur  of  applause  ;  first  like  the  buzz 
of  the  noonday  insects  of  the  groves,  then  like  a  ca 
reering  hurricane.  The  applause  swelled  up,  drowning 
all  sounds,  causing  the  fires  to  flicker  and  flame,  mak 
ing  the  pavilion's  sides  sway  and  wave  as  if  all  were 
feeling  the  joy  present.  The  musical  instruments 
quickly  now  caught  up  the  strain  of  the  cheery  voices, 
and  all  was  in  a  perfect  whirl  of  excitement  with  one 
thought,  '  praise.'  It  was  free  and  fluent,  because  it 
came  from  hearts  practiced  in  the  ultimate  swings 
from  joy  to  sorrow  and  then  from  sorrow  to  joy.  For 
half  an  hour  nearly,  the  rhapsody  continued,  nor  did  it 
temperate  until  sheer  exhaustion  fell  on  the  revelers. 

Presently,  after  an  interval  of  comparative  quiet, 
there  came  a  flourish  of  cornets  and  a  roar  of  the  rat 
tling  clappers.  It  was  a  signal  followed  by  the  uplift- 


156  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

ing  of  the  old  priest's  hands  as  if  in  benediction.  All 
heads  were  bowed  ;  some  of  the  congregation  knelt, 
and  then  he  spoke  in  sonorous,  yet  soothing  voice, 
words  of  benediction :  "  Blessed  art  thou,  Oh  Lord 
our  God,  King  of  the  Universe,  who  hath  wrought  all 
miracles  for  our  fathers  and  also  for  us,  at  this  time." 

Then  the  people  stood  up,  and  the  second  patriarch, 
advancing  to  the  front  of  the  altar,  began  reading  from 
the  holy  Kcthubim  of  the  Jews,  the  story  of  the  Purim. 
At  each  mention  of  Esther's  name  the  congregation 
murmured  "  how  beautiful  is  goodness;  "  at  each  men 
tion  of  Raman's  name  all  in  the  congregation  stamped 
their  feet,  also  making  gurgling  noises  with  their 
throats,  to  imitate  the  false  prince's  strangling  ;  the 
whole  being  made  more  hideous  by  the  shriek  of  dis 
cordant  cornet  notes  and  the  springing  of  rattles. 

The  foregoing  scene  suddenly  changed  ;  a  procession 
of  maidens,  in  graceful  evolutions,  emerging  from  the 
surrounding  groves,  presenting  a  living  picture,  really 
entrancing.  They  were  all  richly  robed  in  garments 
of  graceful  flow,  caught  round  their  waists  by  flowered 
girdles.  Some  wore  sashes  of  jassamine,  while  others 
were  crowned  with  lillies  or  asters  or  violets.  Their 
arms  and  ankles  were  clad  only  with  circlets  from 
which  pendant  bells  gave  forth  music  at  every  motion. 
Seven  of  the  foremost  maidens  bore  lamps  ;  behind 
each  of  these  followed  one  with  a  harp  ;  behind 
each  harper  two  with  tambourines  and  cymbals. 
Seven  times  this  maiden  train,  with  a  step  in  time, 
half  march,  half  dance,  waltzed  around  the  canopied 
altar.  Then  were  given  seven  cornet  blasts,  the  pro 
cession  leaders  waving  their  lamps  with  each  blast, 
after  which  there  was  perfect  silence.  Now  the  old 


The  Feast  of  Purim.  157 

priest  moved  forward  a  little  toward  the  procession  ; 
the  congregation  meanwhile  gathering  in  a  semi-circle, 
just  outside  of  all,  and  he  addressed  the  assembly: 
"  Brethren  and  children,  I  would  speak  to  you  a  little 
of  the  '  Virtuous  Woman.'  Daughters  of  Israel,  hearts 
of  homes  to  be,  hopes  of  the  nation  looking  for  a  De 
liverer  and  deliverers  yet  to  be  born  ;  hear  me  !  Israel 
knows  no  queen  of  all  womanly  perfections  like  unto 
Esther,  the  beautiful.  Evermore  take  her  for  your 
meditation  by  day  and  your  dreams  by  night.  Then 
shall  you  all  realize  to  yourselves,  your  fathers,  broth 
ers,  husbands,  all  that  the  holy  Proverbs  of  our  Kcthu- 
bim  declares  of  the  true  woman.  Then  the  priest  tak 
ing  the  parchment,  solemnly  and  in  mellow  tones,  read 
the  last  chapter  of  the  book,  '  the  birth-day  chapter,'  a 
verse  prophetic  for  every  day  of  the  longest  month,  as 
the  Jews  believe." 

When  the  reader  ceased,  the  encampment  was  dim, 
many  of  the  lights  having  been  quenched.  Then  the 
congregation  joined  in  chanting  a  soft-aired  Jewish 
hymn. 

"  The  devotions  are  ended  ;  now  for  the  sports;"  so 
spoke  Ichabod  ;  the  first  words  spoken  between  him  and 
the  knight  during  their  observation  of  the  last  part  of 
the  proceedings  before  the  pavilion.  He  had  scarcely 
made  the  announcement  when  the  second  patriarch  ap 
peared,  dressed  in  somber  black,  leading  by  the  hand 
a  maiden  of  wondrous  beauty,  wearing  also  black,  in 
heavy  trails ;  on  her  head  a  golden  crown.  As  they 
appeared  the  applause  as  at  first  burst  forth,  but  now 
blended  with  distinguishable  cries  of  "  Hail  Esther!'" 
'•'  Hail  Mordecai !  " 

"  It's  the  play,  knight.     Watch  that  pair." 


158  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"No  fear,  Jew,  such  a  wondrous  beauty !  Had  I 
been  Hainan  and  she  Esther,  I  never  could  have 
crossed  her.  Heavens,  Jew,  it  is  well  said  the  people 
of  promise  produce  the  most  beautiful  women  of  earth. 
That's  why  Deity  elected  one  of  them,  through  whom 
to  be  incarnate,  I  think." 

"  I  think  I  heard  the  knight  say,  awhile  ago,  that  the 
revolution  of  all  religions  was  to  come  when  men's  ad 
miration  for  women  rose  far  above  rapture  over  out 
ward  form.  Is  it  not  so?" 

"Ah,  it's  thy  remembering  and  my  forgetting  that 
keeps  us  crossing  each  other !  But  no  matter  ;  am  I 
looking  at  an  angel  or  not  ?  " 

"That's  the  priest's  only  daughter;  his  idol,  ay, 
the  idol  of  every  youth  in  all  these  parts  of  Israel. 
No  nation  can  be  dead  while  it  produces  such  flowers." 
Suddenly  the  camp  blazed  with  re-illumination,  and 
then  began  a  carnival.  Games  and  dancers  were 
everywhere.  Some,  evidently  men,  were  dressed  as 
women,  and  others,  evidently  women,  were  garbed  as 
men.  For  one  season,  Purim,  the  command  against 
the  interchange  of  garments  between  the  sexes,  was 
suspended.  Each  reveler  carried  a  little  box.  If  he 
asked  a  favor  or  a  question,  the  reply  was  a  challenge 
to  try  lots.  Partners  were  so  chosen,  tasks  given  and 
predictions  made.  Laughter  was  everywhere,  and 
wine  was  flowing. 

"  Ichabod,  I  haven't  tasted  wine  since  Acre!  Why 
dost  thou  not  introduce  me  yonder?" 

"Wait;  they  will  all  be  mellow,  soon.  They  may 
be,  too,  for  it's  a  law  that  a  Jew  is  not  deemed  drunk 
at '  Purim  '  so  long  as  he  can  discern  between  a  bless* 
ing  for  Mordacai  and  a  curse  for  Haman.' 


The  Feast  of  Purim,  159 

:<  Heavens  !  how  they  do  imbibe." 

"  It's  natural  for  doves  to  twitter  after  a  thunder 
storm.  They  remember  the  past  troubles." 

"Ay;  but  I  fear  they  will  consume  all  the  bever 
age  before  we  are  with  them.  We  have  had  plenty  of 
trouble ;  now  take  me  in  to  twitter  with  those  doves." 

Ichabod  started,  as  if  to  lead  the  way,  and  then  drew 
back  and  moaned,  "  no,  no  ;  it  cannot  be.  I'm  forever 
anathema  here,  to  them  !  I  could  bear  their  hate,  not 
their  contempt.  They  may  call  me  renegade,  but 
never  spaniel  nor  hypocrite  !  If  I  appeared  among  them 
they  would  soon  know,  if  they  do  not  already,  that 
Ichabod  is  changed.  Then  they'd  sneer  and  tell  me 
that  I  tried  to  play  double,  or  thinking  my  people's 
faith  not  good  enough  for  me,  I  yet  hungered  for  their 
feasts.  No,  no  ;  it  must  not  be  !  To-morrow,  I  hope 
to  pray  at  my  mother's  grave.  I'd  choke  then  if  I  had 
to  remember  I'd  done  aught  that  she,  living,  would  have 
thought  mean." 

"Now,  I'll  not  persuade  thee,  Jew,  but  go  alone." 

"That's  reckless!  thou  mayst  regret  it.  They  may 
become  riotous,  being  half  drunk,  and  beat  thee  as  a 
Hainan.  No,  stay  away." 

"  No  dissuasion,  Jew,  but  just  change  garments.  It's 
the  fashion  to-night."  The  Jew  complied,  remarking 
as  he  did  : 

"Will  the  knight  wear  this  leather  thong?" 

"  Heavens  !  no,  nor  the  brand  on  thy  neck." 

"  Christian  knights  commanded  me  to  wear  one,  and 
burned  into  my  flesh  the  other  years  ago  ;  they  deemed 
it  necessary  to  mark  all  Jews  for  hatred." 

"  Dear  Ichabod,  I  never  counseled  branding  any 
man  !  " 


160  Tlie  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  I  believe  it.  I  have  forgotten  all  bitterness  about 
these  marks  and  have  borne  them  as  my  cross. 

But,  Sir  Charleroy,  don't  wear  thy  cross  in  their 
sight !  " 

"  For  once,  I'll  cover  it."  So  saying  he  hid  the 
emblem. 

The  comrades  parted,  and  Sir  Charleroy  quickly 
found  himself  by  the  maiden  who  personated  Esther, 
lie  approached  unnoticed  until  he  pleasantly  said: 
"  Queen  of  Shushan,  a  man  out  there  behind  a  clump 
of  Sharon  roses,  played  me  a  game  of  lots.  I  lost  the 
game,  and  he  has  put  it  on  me  to  come  to  the  Queen 
to  fix  the  forfeit  I  shall  pay."  The  maiden  turned  her 
head  haughtily  and  examined  the  speaker  from  head  to 
foot  with  repelling  gaze.  It  was  her  way  of  freezing 
off  the  amorous  swains  who  constantly  aimed  to  pay 
her  court.  But  when  her  eyes  met  those  of  the  self- 
possessed  stranger,  she  gave  a  little  start.  Perhaps 
she  caught  sight,  by  some  omen,  of  her  fate ;  perhaps 
she  felt  the  magnetism  of  the  strong  will  which  for  the 
first  time  presented  itself.  In  any  event,  it  was  the  first 
time  she  had  ever  been  alone,  face  to  face,  with  such 
as  he ;  a  stalwart  man,  all  reverential,  yet  all  self- 
possessed.  They  were  well  matched,  and  they  both 
felt  it,  intuitively,  instantly. 

"Who  art  thou  ?" 

"A  child  of  God." 

"Of  Israel?" 

"  By  faith,  most  holy  of  Abraham's  seed,"  responded 
Sir  Charleroy. 

"  Thy  speech  bewrayeth  thee  as  lacking  out  shib 
boleth." 

"  I've  been  a  life  long  wanderer.  Thou  wouldst  not  re- 


The  Feast  of  Purim.  161 

ject  one  whom  involuntary  exile  had  robbed  of 
tokens  •*" 

"  But  I  can  not  be  free  with  an  uncertified  stranger. 
I'm  afraid  I  err  in  tarrying  here  'till  now." 

"  Hospitality  is  the  boast  of  pious  Hebrews  who 
3bey  Him  that  '  loveth  the  stranger  in  giving  him  food 
and  raiment.'  Thou  hast  the  Great  Father's  law : 
'  Love  ye  therefore  the  stranger,  for  ye  were  strangers 
in  the  land  of  Egypt.'  Some  have  by  hospitality  una 
wares  entertained  angels,  thou  knowst." 

"  I'd  like  to  entertain  an  angel  ;  are  they  ever  so 
human-like  as  thou  ?  "  she  smiled. 

"  Had  I  known  the  Esther  of  to-night  long  enough 
to  convince  her  that  my  freedom  was  sincere,  I'd  say 
that  she  was  a  fine  example  of  the  union  of  the  angelic 
in  the  human." 

The  maiden  laughed.  The  insense  was  agreeable, 
and  the  freedom  of  this  feast-time  justified  her  accept 
ance  of  this  novel,  bold  flattery.  Your  proud,  daring 
woman  is  very  vulnerable  to  such  assaults.  The  world 
often  wonders  why  such  women  so  often,  after  all,  sur 
render  ;  but  that's  because  the  world  does  not  appre 
ciate  the  dexterity  in  such  jousts  of  such  skilled  men 
of  the  world  as  Sir  Charleroy ;  or  how  grateful  to 
self-admiring  beauties  the  admiration  of  superior  intel 
lects  is. 

"Well,  will  thou  give  me  thy  name?" 

"Certainly.     For  to-night,  Ahasuerus?" 

"  A  presumptious  jest,  sir." 

"No,  for  I  admire  and  respect  Esther,  that's  here.  ' 

"And  then?" 

"  I  plead  for  help  ;  gain  me  admittance  to  the  festivi 
ties,  and  escape  from  inquiry  further,  as  to  my  identity.' 


1 52  The  giteen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"And    afterward,  be  called  by  my  people  brazen 
;)y  thee,  a  little  fool !  " 

"  Art  thou  driven  from  right,  the  claim  of  hospitality, 
by  fear  of  a  lie  ?  " 

"  What  if  thou  wert  a  Bedouin  spy,  or  a  hated  cros* 
follower?  " 

"Thou  art  a  noble  hearted  maiden." 

"  Ah,  who  told  thee  so  ?  " 

"  Thy  face." 

"  What  is  that  to  thee,  if  true?"  she  blushed  a  little. 

"  Could'st  thou  drive  from  thy  bosom  a  fleeing  kidf 
there  seeking  refuge  from  pursuing  lions?" 

"  I  do  not  know  'till  tried.  Thou  art  at  any  rate  no 
kid  '.  there  is  no  lion.  If  thou  desirest  refuge,  see  the 
path  of  departure  is  the  one  by  which  thou  cam'st 
hither." 

"Well,  then,  farewell." 

The  knight  made  as  if  he  would  go,  but  he  knew  he 
would  not.  The  motion  gave  him  excuse  for  looking 
sad,  and  he  knew  that  next  to  a  handsome  face  a  sad 
one  most  easily  conquers  a  woman. 

"Tarry  a  moment  'till  I  think.  Can  I  trust  thee?" 
she  was  hesitating. 

"  I've  trusted  thee,  and  that's  ever  the  best  proof  of 
fidelity."  Women  like  to  think  they  are  especially 
trusted. 

"  Well but,  see,   my   father    comes ;    there's  no 

time  for  argument ;  let  me  speak  !  " 

As  the  aged  priest  drew  near,  Esther  saluted  him, 
and  said,  "  Father,  let  me  take  this  Galileean  stranger 
to  the  youths  and  their  games?  He  claims  our  hospi 
tality." 

The  priest,  wont  to  be  on  the  alert,  was  disarmed  by 


The  Feast  of  Pur im.  163 

Mie  magic  word  hospitality;  then,  too,  for  a  long  time 
before,  having  been  wifeless,  he  had  been  wont  to  put 
his  daughter  forward,  according  large  confidence  to 
her;  hence  his  reply: 

"  If  thou  knowest  him,  Rizpah." 

"I  do." 

"  Welcome,  brother,  what  is  thy  name?"  said  Harri- 
mai. 

Rizpah,  his  daughter,  quickly  made  reply,  "  Ahasue- 
rus,  and  I've  laughed  at  the  coincidence  until  he  has 
been  ashamed  to  repeat  it." 

"  Tis  strange,  surely,  and  not  like  a  Jewish  one.  I 
must  examine  the  family  rolls  to-morrow.  Peace  be 
unto  thee,  son,"  and  the  old  man  turned  toward  his 
pavilion.  Esther  plucked  a  lily  from  her  crown  and 
handed  it  to  Sir  Charleroy  saying:  "Here,  king,  a 
token." 

"Of  what?" 

"  Shushan  ;  in  our  tongue,  the  name  of  the  flower 
signifies  '  surrender.'  " 

"  They  say,  Esther,  that  Judith  wore  a  crown  of  lil 
ies  when  she  assassinated  Holophernes.  Is  there  any 
danger  to  me  impending?  " 

"  Thou  hast  a  lily.  It  is  said  to  ward  off  enchant 
ments,  too." 

"  I  am  enchanted.  I  do  not  want  to  awaken.  In 
Egypt  they  call  this  the  lotus,  flower  of  unrestrained 
pleasure." 

"  For  now  then,  we'll  call  it  lotus." 

"All  gods,  even  Osiris,  bless  thee,  Esther." 

So  the  twain  were  charmed  comrades,  till  watch  fires 
were  dim  and  the  palm  shadows  were  creeping  in,  like 
mneral  attendants,  to  carry  away  the  spirit  of  the 


164  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

dying  revel.  Here  and  there  was  heard  anon  the  voices 
commending  this  one  and  that  to  pleasant  slumbers. 
The  stars  were  withdrawing  behind  dawn's  feathery 
curtains,  and  over  all,  at  intervals,  was  heard  the  voice 
of  the  chanticleer,  triumphantly  proclaiming  the  com- 
ing  day. 

Charleroy  and  Rizpah  were  left  alone  with  each 
other  at  the  end  of  the  last  game. 

The  maiden  gave  a  coy,  furtive  glance  and  tardily 
drew  away  from  the  knight.  The  language  of  the 
drawing-room  of  the  day,  is  as  old  as  the  centuries,  and 
that  maid  of  the  wilderness  used  it  as  finely  as  a  queen, 
to  say  without  words,  "  it's  time  we  part ;  please  say  so 
first,  nor  leave  to  me,  the  hostess,  the  first  suggestion 
of  a  wish  to  have  thee  go — 

Still  the  knight  spake  not. 

He  was  delighted  and  averse  to  breaking  the  first 
pleasure  spell  of  years. 

The  Jewish  maiden,  with  fine  courtesy,  renewed  the 
subject:  "  King,  methinks,  thou  art  anxious  to  exchange 
the  grove  for  the  palace." 

"  I  can  never  think  of  weariness  when  restful  Esther 
is  nigh." 

"  But  thy  life  is  precious  to  thy  subjects  ;  care  for  it, 
and  go  with  freshness  to  to-morrow's  cares  of  state. 

"  Ah,  queen,  I  too  keenly  realize  that  with  thy  de 
parture  my  kingdom  fades  to  nothingness." 

"A  truce,  my  liege." 

"  Granted,  and  any  thing  else,  to  the  half  of  my  king 
dom." 

Rizpah  startled  the  birds  in  the  shrubbery  to  prema 
ture  morning  song,  with  a  merry  laugh.  It  was  a  fin 
ishing  charge,  that  laufjh.  by  which  she  carried  her 


The  Feast  of  Purim.  165 

point,  for  the  knight  quickly  questioned  "Why 
this?" 

"  I  was  only  thinking  how  odd  thou  wouldst  appear  if 
thou  didst  wear  away  my  pepelum.  Thy  subjects  would 
think  their  king  mad,  if  he  met  them  veiled  as  a 
woman." 

"  Pardon,  queen,  I've  been  so  absorbed,  I  forgot  my 
self —  So  saying,  he  gracefully  transferred  from  his 
shoulder  to  hers  the  shawl  she  had  permitted  him  for 
the  night  to  wear.  As  the  maiden  adjusted  it, 
something  fell  out  of  its  folds,  glittering  to  her  feet. 

"  Findings  keepings  ;  "  she  laughed,  and  stooped  to 
pick  up  the  object.  As  she  arose  she  turned  it  slowly 
toward  the  setting  moon  the  better  to  inspect  the 
find. 

The  knight  was  alarmed,  but  it  was  too  late  to  pre 
vent  her  examinination  now  of  his  Teutonic  cross  and 
chain. 

At  a  glance,  Rizpah  saw  it  was  an  emblem,  of  all 
others,  hated  by  her  people,  and  with  a  low,  startled  cry 
she  made  a  motion  as  if  to  huri  it  from  her,  but  she 
checked  herself  with  a  powerful  effort ;  suddenly  turning 
her  black,  piercing  eyes  upon  her  companion  she  took 
a  step  back.  She  stood  there  the  embodiment  of  an 
imperative  question. 

The  knight  quietly  said  :   "  Be  calm,  dear  maid." 

Over  her  countenance  passed  a  cloud  which  to  the 
man  all  too  plainly  said  :  "  How  darst  thou  use  such 
terms  to  me  ?"  and  then  the  face  hardened  again  to  im 
perative  interrogation. 

"Thou  trustedst  me  four  hours  ago,  under  the  lotus, 
try  now  my  sincerity  by  any  sterner  test.  ' 

Turning  her  eyes  full  on  his,  with  a  voice  without  a 


1 66  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

quaver,  but  in  deep,  measured  tones  indicative  of  sup 
pressed  emotion,  she  questioned  as  she  held  out  to 
ward  him  his  emblem,  "What's  this?" 

"  Concealment  from  thee,  having  trusted  me  as  thou 
hast,  would  be  futile  not  only,  but  hateful  ;  thou  knowst 
the  meaning  of  the  sign." 

"Who  art  thou  then?" 

"A  Christian  knight!" 

"  An  enemy  of  my  people  everywhere  ;  a  spy  here  !  " 
she  exclaimed. 

"  No,  never  a  spy !  a  true  Christian  knight  never  was 
such  !  Our  warfare  is  open  and  equal.  I'm  degraded 
by  the  defense  from  such  an  odious  charge  !  " 

"  Why  debate  thy  methods ;  'tis  enough  for  me  to 
know  thou  art  a  foe  to  me  and  mine." 

"  No  enemy  of  thine,  but  rather  the  friend  of  all  hu 
manity,  woman." 

"  Bloody  friends  I've  heard  !  " 

''No!  Each  one  of  my  order  is  sworn,  by  awful 
vow,  to  protect  the  traveler,  the  poor,  the  weak  and 
woman  with  our  last  drop  of  blood  !  If  we  two  were 
all  alone  here  and  one  of  our  lives  must  be  forfeited  to 
save  the  other's,  mine  would  joy  to  go  first." 

44  Words  are  cheap,  and  thou  can  st  use  them  finely, 
knight." 

"Thou  knowst,  maiden,  to  what  that  cross  alludes." 

"  The  Nazarene  Imposter  !  " 

44  His  followers  revere  Him  ?  " 

"  Like  madmen,  they  follow  their  phantom  !  " 

41  Didst  ever  hear  of  one  wearing  that  sign,  being 
untrue  to  it?" 

"  No,  it's  their  dread  black-art." 

:'  Wouldsc  thou  trust  me  if  I  swore  by  it  ?  " 


The  Feast  of  Purim.  167 

-'*  I  might ;  but  I'd  fear  that  devils  would  flock  out  of 
the  airy  deep  to  witness  thy  vowing.  Spare  me  that 
horror !  " 

"  Maiden,  thou'lt  craze  me  by  thy  distrust  and  wild 
words.  In  God's  name  tell  me  what  to  do  !  " 

"  Swear,  but  wave  back  the  evil  spirits,  if  thou  art 
wont  to  have  them." 

"That  sign  is  their  lasting  terror;  but  the  silent 
palms  and  the  stars  alone  shall  witness,  ay,  the  God 
of  all,  as  well.  Here,  make  thou  the  words  as  thou 
wilt.  Now,  I  kiss  the  cross  I  love,  and  am  ready.  He 
suited  the  action  to  the  words.  The  maid-en  drew 
near  to  him,  looking  down  into  his  eyes  searchingly 
and  seemed  assured  by  their  serene  frankness." 

"Go  on,  Rizpah,  I'll  bind  my  soul  with  any  words 
coined,  and,  remember  that  I  believe  that  perjury  would 
consign  me  to  misery  untold  here  ;  eternal  woe  here 
after  !  " 

"  I'll  trust  thy  solemn  asseverations;  they  say  that  3 
superstition  on  the  right  side  will  make  even  a  Philis- 
tine  bearable.  Repeat,  *  I  swear  never  to  harm  any 
of  Rizpah's  kin  or  clan,  except  in  self-defense." 

He  complied. 

"Again,"  '  I  swear  to  depart  peacefully  at  once,  and 
no  more  seek  companionship  with  the  people  this 
night  met." 

He  complied,  but  murmured  "  cruelty." 

"  And  how  ?  "  she  questioned. 

"Wilt  add  a  little?" 

"Add  what  ?" 

"Add  this  '  except  by  permission  of  the  one  ordain, 
ing  my  vow. 

"  It  is  so  fixed." 


1 68  The  Queen  oj  the  House  of  David. 

"I  then  swear  it  all." 

"  Well,  now  go,"  and  she  pointed  to  the  hills. 

"  I  obey,  but  yet  plead  delay." 

She  hesitated  and  fell  from  being  master  to  being 
mastered. 

"  Why,  what  benefits  delay  ?  " 

"  Oh,  woman,  I  yearn  as  only  a  lonely  heart  can,  to 
enjoy  a  little  while  the  fellowship  and  hospitality  of 
thy  people  !  For  years  homeless  ;  for  months  friendless, 
I've  come  to  feel  worthless.  This  is  the  first  bright 
hour  in  my  life  for  many  a  day.  Perhaps,  maiden  of 
Israel,  thou  mightst  make  life  worth  living  to  me." 

It  was  a  charge  on  her  sympathy,  and  he  knew  it 
would  succeed. 

"  A  Crusader,  '  one  of  the  armies  of  God,'  boasting  a 
divine  call  to  conquer  and  convert  the  world,  so  talk- 
ing?" 

"  Our  armed  crusades  are  ended  forever;  my  occu 
pation's  gone." 

She  had  hesitated,  now  she  pitied  the  man,  and 
woman-like,  again  surrendered  while  she  protested. 

"  I  do  not  think  there  could  come  great  harm  from 
thy  staying  until  sunrise  repast." 

"  Bless  thee,  the  nine  sun  gods  bless  thee,  Esther." 

"  Heathen  !  " 

"  Well ;  an  Egyptian-Christian-Jew  taught  me  to  say 
this  when  too  cheerful  to  be  solemn,  and  pious  enough 
not  to  be  frivolous." 

"An  Egyptian-Hebrew-Christian!  He  must  have 
been  an  Arab.  That  name  means  the  '  mixed.'  But 
go  to  the  men's  tents  ;  to-morrow  I'll  have  more  wis 
dom.  Peace  and  grace  to  thee;  good  night,  Christian- 
Heathen-Hebrew-Arabic-Egyptian  !  '*  She  laughingly 


The  Feast  of  Purim.  169 

spoke  and  the  unbending  made  the  knight,  bold.  He 
addressed  her : 

"  I'd  sleep  in  perfect  peace,  if  Rizpah  would  give 
me  a  token." 

"  1  ?  what  ?  "  and  the  maiden  drew  back,  offended. 
Her  innocency  remembered  no  token  then,  but  such 
solicited  by  her  maiden  friends,  or  given  at  times  to 
her  father,  a  kiss. 

"Place  thy  hand  in  mine,  Rizpah."  She  quickly 
complied,  glad  she  was  mistaken,  as  to  her  suspicion 
and  blushing  within,  as  she  thought  how  strangely, 
easily,  her  mind  had  had  the  thought,  "  Well,  now  what, 
knight  ?  " 

"  Promise  me  that  while  I'm  permitted  to  tarry  among 
thy  people,  I  shall  have  thy  heart's  friendship ;  as 
freely,  as  loyally  bestowed  as  if  I  were  thy  brother." 

"Canst  trust  me,  a  woman,  a  girl,  almost  a  stran- 
ger?" 

"  I  trust  thy  woman's  heart  as  Joshua's  men  of  old 
trusted  Rahab,  a  wreck,  but  still  a  woman.  Thou  art 
infinitely  more  noble  than  she." 

"  But  men  think  us  weak,  fitful,  garrulous." 

"  Responsibility  makes  the  weakest  of  thy  sex  hero 
ines  and  pity  is  the  gateway  to  their  hearts.  Thou 
hast  my  life  and  my  happiness  as  thy  responsibility ; 
dost  pity  me  ?" 

"  Yes  :  go  now.  A  Gentile  hater  of  my  people  shall 
see  of  what  metals  Jewish  maidens  are.'* 


CHAPTER  XII. 

ASTARTE  OR  MARY? 

B  Who  could  resist ;  who  in  the  universe  f 
She  did  breathe  ambrosia  ;    so  immerse 
My  existence  in  a  golden  clime, 
She  took  me  like  a  child  of  sucking  time, 
And  cradled  me  in  roses.     Thus  condemned 
The  current  of  my  former  life  was  stemmed  : 
I  bowed  a  tranced  vassal." 

— KEATS. 


HE  Teutonic  Knight  of  Saint  Mary,  through 
all  his  changing  fortunes  from  the  time  of 
his  knighthood's  vow,  preserved  his  moral 
integrity,  his  loyalty  to  the  lofty  pattern 
of  life  set  forth  by  the  Queenly  exemplar,  Mary,  the 
mother  of  Jesus.  Crusader  days  had  so  far  improved 
his  life  as  to  make  him  the  outspoken  denouncer  of  all 
impurity  of  life.  He  thought  his  creed  and  his  commit 
tal  thereto  complete.  A  change  came  over  him.  He  that, 
in  the  storm  of  battle,  had  often  cried  as  his  law  and  his 
delight  "  Den s  Vult"  "God  wills,"  now  feared  to  seek 
to  know,  much  less  to  do,  that  will.  The  intoxications 
of  a  new  love  were  upon  him  ;  unconsciously  he  was 
suffering  his  queen  to  be  veiled,  eclipsed  ;  and  he  yielded 
to  the  tide  that  swept  him  toward  the  Jewish  maiden. 
Sometimes  his  conscience  smote  him,  but  he  parleyed 
with  it,  called  it  a  fool,  or  placated  it  by  the  assurance 
that  this  whole  matter  could  be  stopped  any  time  at 


Astarte  or  Mary  ?  171 

will.  Like  many  another  man,  forgetting  all  else  ex 
cept  that  he  was  a  refined  animal,  he  passed  away  from 
the  beacons  of  Bethlehem  to  the  chambers  of  Im 
agery,  the  gods  of  Egypt.  In  chains  of  roses,  though 
with  many  fine  Christian  sentiments  on  his  lips,  he 
went  heart  first,  head  first,  into  an  utter  committal  of 
all  his  being  to  the  possession  of  his  enchanter.  He 
expected  to  regard  the  laws  of  the  land  and  society, 
but  nothing  more.  He  was  led  by  his  tempting 
spirit  to  Ramoth  Gilead,  now  sometimes  called 
Gerara  or  Gerash.  There  it  was  that  Rizpah's  family 
took  up  its  abode.  With  them,  and  of  them,  was  Sir 
Charleroy,  a  welcome  guest,  his  welcome  secured  by 
his  own  personal  efforts  to  please,  in  part ;  but  more 
through  \\\Q  finesse  of  Rizpah,  who  having  promised  to 
be  a  sister,  was  permitting  her  mind  to  wonder  what 
he  might  become  if  only  her  friend  were  a  Hebrew. 
Such  day  dreams  were  sinless,  but  impolitic  if  she 
really  meant  to  keep  herself  free  and  painless,  when  the 
parting  time  came.  But  it  so  happens  that  the  ques 
tions  and  problems  of  the  heart  are  thrust  ever  on  life 
when  most  responsive,  least  experienced.  The  won 
der  is  not  that  so  many  decide  them  ill,  but  that 
youth  so  pressed,  so  ardent,  so  callow,  as  a  whole 
decide  so  fairly  well  the  master  social  problem.  The 
life  of  Harrimai  and  his  following  was  very  Jewish  at 
Gerash.  There  was  an  unusual  amount  of  national 
pride  evinced  in  that  locality  for  the  times.  Sir  Char 
leroy  was  interested  deeply  in  the  place  because  of  its 
splendid  ruins,  he  said,  but  as  need  not  be  explained, 
chiefly  on  account  of  its  natural  beauties  amid  which 
Rizpah  was  peerless.  The  Israelitish  colony  revered 
the  place  for  its  ancient  part  in  Jewish  history,  and  be- 


1 72  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

cause  they  believed  no  Moslem  invader  had  ever  defiled 
the  place.  The  knight  and  the  Jewish  father  and 
daughter  were  in  frequent  companionship.  They  were 
becoming  very  intimate,  meanwhile  gaining  power  each 
to  make  the  other  eventually  very  miserable. 

Rizpah  was  pushing  out  in  a  new  experience  to  her. 
If  she  were  enamored  she  did  not  fully  know  it.  She 
only  knew  that  the  knight's  companionship  was  very 
delightful.  If  she  had  any  misgivings  as  to  the  pro 
priety  of  her  course  she  silenced  them  by  saying  to 
herself  :  "  Sir  Charleroy  has  sworn  to  leave  us  forever 
when  I  say  he  shall.  I  can  end  this  matter  any  time.'' 
She  thought  she  could,  but  the  shield  of  her  safety  was 
already  too  heavy  for  her.  She  could  not  have  said 
go,  had  she  tried.  Time  deepened  the  perplexity  by 
multiplying  the  enmeshings  of  the  trio.  The  knight 
and  Rizpah  were  much  in  each  other's  society.  They 
spoke  of  this  as  being  a  happy  circumstance,  as  youths 
usually-do.  "  We  shall  understand  each  other  so  well — 
too  well  to  misunderstand."  Some  of  the  Jewish 
young  men  were  jealous  and  made  some  very  natural 
remarks,  under  the  circumstances,  though  the  remarks 
were  rather  bitter  with  jealousy.  The  older  people, 
some  of  them,  anxious  for  an  alliance  by  marriage  with 
the  rich  and  powerful  Harrimai  family,  took  up  the 
undertone  complaints  of  the  young  people  of  their  race. 
Of  course,  the  murmurings  were  cloaked  with  declara 
tions  that  they  were  all  for  the  sake  of  righteousness  ! 
Harrimai,  in  heart  far  from  assured,  was  yet  compelled 
to  defend  the  two  secretly  loving,  in  order  to  defend  his 
daughter's  fair  fame.  The  two  young  people  wore  the 
armor  of  teacher  and  pupil ;  the  young  woman  con 
stantly  bepraising  the  knight's  wondrous  knowledge 


Astarte  or  Mary  ?  173 

of  the  antiquities,  etc.,  of  all  the  out-of-the-way  places 
they  visited.  So  the  meshes  multiplied,  though 
the  caviling  was  in  part  silenced.  As  teacher  and 
pupil  they  went  on,  and  Harrimai  knew,  as  did  Sir 
Charleroy,  that  the  relationship  had  its  peril,  as  it  ex 
isted  between  a  man  and  woman  who  could  love  yet 
ought  not  to  love.  Rizpah  did  not  at  first  know  how 
easily  a  woman's  heart  surrenders  to  a  man  to  whom 
she  is  accustomed  to  look  upward.  In  fact  she  drifted 
in  a  delight  in  all  pertaining  to  the  knight  ;  her  only 
outlook  and  watchfulness  being  toward  her  father. 
The  way  the  latter  at  times  keenly,  silently  observed 
her  and  the  knight  made  her  uneasy.  She  knew  in 
tuitively  that  not  far  away  there  was  impending  on  her 
father's  part  an  investigation.  She  determined  to  delay, 
if  not  prevent  it.  One  day  she  bounded  into  her 
father's  presence,  aglow  with  enthusiasm  over  the  won 
ders  unfolded  to  her  by  Sir  Charleroy  during  a  visit  to 
the  ruins  of  Gerash's  temple  of  the  sun.  The  old  man 
was  charmed  by  her  description,  and  when  she  declared 
her  intention  to  pursue  her  investigations  beyond  their 
city  he  hesitated  to  forbid. 

"And  now,  father,  I'm  going  to  that  old  city  of  the 
Giants,  Bozrah." 

The  father,  with  an  effort  at  firmness,  dissuadingly 
replied : 

"We  may  all  go  there,  but  not  now.  It  is  better 
to  bide  here  quietly,  until  we  learn  that  the  perils 
of  receding  war  have  left  assured  peace." 

"Why,  father,  I'm  not  afraid  !  " 

"  I  know  it ;  so  much  the  more  need  for  me  to  be; 
these  over-daring  daughters  need  over-careful  guard 
ians.  Some  of  us  aged  oper  are  suffered  to  tarry  long 


1^4  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

from  paradise,  in  order  that  we  may  see  our  darlings 
in  the  right  path  thither." 

"  Give  me  my  swift  white  dromedary  and  two  at 
tendants  and  I'll  defy  the  miserables  who  ambuscade 
along  the  way." 

Just  then,  there  dashed  toward  them,  over  the  olean 
der-fringed  road  which  passed  due  north  along  the 
little  river  and  across  the  city,  a  rider  on  panting 
steed. 

"  It's  the  news  runner!  "  said  the  patriarch. 

"  Shall  we  signal  him?  "  she  questioned. 

"  No,  daughter,  we  will  meet  him  yonder,  where  the 
two  great  streets  cross.  He  will  await  me." 

When  the  father  and  daughter  arrived,  a  crowd  had 
already  gathered  about  the  horseman.  Some  pressed 
him  for  news,  but  he  looked  straight  ahead  at  his 
horse,  now  slaking  its  thirst,  and  merely  snapped  out; 
"  News?  My  beast  is  thirsty! 

When  Harrimai  drew  near  the  rider  saluted  him  and 
at  once  unfolded  his  budget :  "  Father,  I'm  this  day 
from  Bozrah.  Its  ruins  are  not  ruined.  All  around 
there,  and  from  there  to  here,  the  herds  sleep  in  the 
shade,  and  the  carrion  birds  that  have  so.  long  been 
hovering  around  us  for  human  food  have  fled  back 
to  Egypt  and  Europe  and  Hadesl  " 

"  Praised  be  the  Father  of  Israel !  I  shall  live  then, 
as  I  prayed  I  might,  to  see  the  infidels  slung  out  of 
our  holy  places  !  "  So  spoke  the  priest,  and  as  he  affec 
tionately  embraced  some  aged  Israelites  who  gathered 
about  him,  the  horseman  responded : 

"  God  reigns  and  Israel  has  peace."  He  put  spurs  to 
his  horse  then,  and  dashed  away  across  the  river  to 
spread  to  other  hamlets  the  glorious  news. 


A  starte  or  Ma  ry?  175 

Next  morning  Rizpah,  having  carried  her  point,  was 
ready  to  depart  for  Bozrah.  She  had  taken  silence 
on  her  father's  part  for  consent,  and  pursued  her  prepa 
rations  as  if  it  were  so  ordered.  All  things  being  ready 
she  silenced  protest  by  a  good-by  kiss. 

"  But  daughter  !     What  escort  ?  " 

"  Ah,"  she  thought,  "  victory  !  I  can  go  if  well  at 
tended."  She  continued  aloud  ;  "  Perhaps  Sir  Charle- 
roy's  Egyptian  might  attend  me,  since  our  servants  art- 
busy  in  the  groves."  The  maiden  called  to  her  Icha- 
bod,  who  had  found  a  home  in  Harrimai's  establish 
ment,  his  identity  hidden  under  the  assumed  name 
Huykos,  a  name  from  the  Nile  land,  meaning  "  Shep 
herd  King."  "I'll  take  it,"  said  Ichabod,  one  day  to 
Sir  Charleroy,  "  that  all  unknown  I  may  follow  my 
pilgrim  comrade  and  perhaps  honor  my  new  found 
'  Shepherd  King.'  ' 

"One  will  be  a  meager  escort  daughter,"  interposed 
Harrimai. 

"  Oh,  fear  for  me  nothing,  father.  I'll  quickly  be  at 
Bozrah,  where  there  are  Israelites  not  a  few  who  will  be 
proud  to  aid  thy  daughter." 

"  No,  daughter  it  must  not  be.  I'll  call  the  young 
men  from  the  vineyard,  if  thou  must  go." 

"  Another  victory,"  her  heart  whispered ;  then 
quickly  turning  to  Sir  Charleroy  she  exclaimed,  "My 
father  must  not  call  the  workmen  from  their  tasks; 
what  sayst  thou  ?  Wilt  serve  us  both  by  joining  my 
body-guard,  Ahasuerus  ?  Come,  to  please  my  father  ?  " 

The  knight  had  hoped  for  and  expected  the  sum 
mons,  so  needed  no  urgency  and  was  instantly  preparing 
for  the  start. 

Harrimai  was  not  pleased  by  the  arrangement,  and 


176  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

yet  he  was  forced  to  thank  the  knight  for  consenting. 
His  native  courtliness  compelled  this  much,  and  Riz- 
pah's  genius  had  precluded  all  gainsaying  on  his  part. 
And  so  they  rode  away,  Rizpah  in  a  delight,  which  she 
could  not  clearly  define  ;  Sir  Charleroy  blinded  already 
by  the  cry  that  at  last  led  to  giant  Samson's  blinding, 
nameiy :  "  Get  her  for  me."  Ichabod  masked  under 
his  name,  Huykos,  followed  after,  knowing  that  the 
knight  was  captive  to  the  maid  and  feeling  very  happy 
over  the  circumstance.  As  he  rode,  his  mind  ran  for 
ward  to  the  wedding,  and  he  laughed  again  and  again 
at  the  witty  things  he  imagined  himself  saying  at  that 
wedding.  Suddenly  the  scene  changed  from  one  of 
careless  delight  to  one  filled  with  the  frights  of  impend 
ing  peril.  At  a  turn  in  the  road,  from  behind  a  wall, 
there  rose  up  a  company  of  Mamelukes.  Rizpah  saw 
them  the  instant  her  companion  did  and  exclaimed, 
as  she  half  turned  her  camel : 
"Let's  race  back  toGerash!" 

But  four  dusky  sentinels  were  behind  them.  They 
were  surrounded. 

"  'Tis  fight  or  flight,  the  latter  futile,"  whispered  the 
knight.  They  paused,  and  Ichabod  joined  them.  Sir 
Charleroy  drawing  his  sword  again  spoke  :  "  Comrade 
it's  a  desperate  chance;  a  dozen  to  two  ;  but  we  have 
taken  such  before  together !  " 

"  Let  the  knight  say  a  dozen  to  three,"  exclaimed 
Rizpah,  as  she  drew  from  the  folds  of  her  garments  a 
saber  before  unseen  and  touched  the  edge  expert-like 
with  her  thumb. 

"  Oh,  brave,  pure  girl !  I  don't  fear  death  ;  I'd  court 
it  for  thce,  but" — Sir  Charleroy  paused  and  looked  un 
utterable  misery  ;  then  instantly  recovering  and  em- 


Astarte  or  Mary  f  177 

boldened  by  the  danger  that  threatened  to   soon  end 
all,  he  exclaimed  : 

"  Rizpah,  thou  rememberest  my  knight-vow  at 
Purim ;  thou  shalt  see  how  I'll  keep  it  ;  if  I  perish,  re 
member  I  have  loved  thee  as  I  never  loved  any  other 
being."  The  words  were  very  vehement,  but  probably 
very  true.  Rizpah  blushed,  brushed  a  tear  from  her 
eyes  and  then,  in  the  frankness  that  such  an  hour  en 
genders,  replied:  "And  I  thee — "  the  rest  was  drowned 
in  the  wild  shout  of  the  Turks  as  they  close  about  the 
three.  But  they  had  not  counted  upon  such  a  recep 
tion  as  those  two  men  and  that  one  woman  gave  them. 
Ichabod  fought  like  a  roused  mastiff,  without  a  thought 
of  fear  for  himself.  He  struck  vehemently,  but  a 
calm  settled  smile  was  on  his  countenance.  Sir  Char- 
leroy  saw  it  and  years  after  said,  recalling  the  incident, 
"  amidst  the  greatest  perils  there's  a  wondrous  peace 
to  one  who  feels  he  is  striking  for  God,  close  to  the  por 
tals  of  death  and  judgment."  The  knight  himself 
fenced  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning.  Again  and  again 
by  ones  and  twos  and  threes,  the  enemies  charged  down 
upon  him,  but  he  fought  with  the  prowess  of  a  crusader, 
the  fire  of  a  lover.  Those  parts  had  never  before  wit 
nessed  such  splendid  swordsmanship.  As  the  attack 
had  been  sudden,  so  was  its  ending.  Two  Turks  fell 
beneath  Sir  Charleroy's  weapon  in  quick  succession, 
and  a  third  fell  under  his  own  horse,  which  was  desper 
ately  wounded  by  a  sweeping  blow  from  the  knight. 
At  the  same  instant,  almost,  Ichabod  and  one  of  the  foe- 
men,  whom  he  was  engaging,  fell  in  significant  silence, 
while  another  struggled  to  drag  Rizpah  to  his  steed 
that  he  might  make  her  captive.  Sir  Charleroy, 
wounded  and  faint,  dealt  the  latter  miscreant  a  stag. 


178  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

gering  blow  and  the  maiden,  plucking  a  small  dagger 
from  the  folds  of  her  garment,  finished  with  a  single 
thrust  her  captor's  earthly  career. 

Those  of  the  marauders  that  were  able,  in  fright  took 
flight,  wheeling  away  more  quickly  than  they  had 
come. 

"  Rizpah,  wilt  thou  go  to  Ich — Huykos?  I  can't," 
softly  called  out  Sir  Charleroy. 

The  maiden  flew  to  the  Jew's  side,  but  quickly  started 
back,  crying:  "  Oh,  knight,  come  quickly !  He's  dead!" 
Just  then,  looking  back,  a  sudden  horror  fell  upon  her, 
for  she  saw  Sir  Charleroy  half  reclining  against  a  rock, 
bleeding  and  pale.  Like  lightning  she  thought :  "  Both 
dead  ;  I  alone  ;  home  miles  away  ;  the  Turks  hovering 
near." 

But  the  thought  of  her  own  peril  was  only  momen 
tary,  and  after  it  there  came  more  rapidly  than  can  be 
written  the  thought  that  one  dear  as  her  life  was  dead, 
dead  for  her  sake.  Instantly,  on  feet  that  seemed 
winged,  she  was  at  Sir  Charleroy's  side.  All  her  being 
merged  into  one  great,  instant  impulse  to  save  her 
lover.  Over  him  she  bent,  and  with  passionate  sorrow 
tried  with  her  garments  to  staunch  the  flow  of  blood. 
In  the  sincereity  and  frankness  that  the  presence  of 
death  ever  brings,  she  arose  above  all  prudishness  and 
impulsively  kissed  the  cold  lips  of  the  knight.  His 
eyes  opened,  and  he  faintly  murmured  : 

"  I'm  so  happy,  dear  Rizpah.  I  know  now  it  is  well." 
A  little  later  he  murmured :  "  Flee  now  for  home. 
Thou'lt  reach  it  by  sun  down.  Leave  me.  To  tarry  is 
to  court  a  harem  prison." 

"  Hush,"  impatiently  responded  she  ;  "  see  this  dag 
ger?"  and  she  held  it  close  to  his  half-closed  eyes. 


Astarte  or  Mary  f  i?«p 

"  My  pious  father  gave  it  me  when  I  was  but  a  girl, 
lie  told  me  it  might  sorrie  time  save  me  from  dis 
honor.  It  did  so  to-day,  once.  If  those  black  demons 
return,  sure  as  my  name  is  Rizpah,  it  will  do  so  again, 
even  though  I  turn  it  toward  my  own  heart." 

"  Better  flee,  my  love." 

"  Not  'till  thou  can'st  go,  too." 

"  1  may  die." 

"  Then,  I'll  go  into  the  shadow  land  with  thee." 

The  knight  was  silent.  The  pain  of  his  wounds  was 
forgotten  in  the  joy  of  that  lone  companionship.  But, 
after  all,  his  mind,  perturbed  by  the  shock,  the  pain, 
the  dangers,  was  unable  to  rest.  He  tried  to  say  to 
himself  the  prayer  of  the  dying  crusader,  but  the  words 
were  confused.  He  could  not  remember  many  of  them  ; 
those  he  remembered,  seemed  to  be  unwilling  to  go 
heavenward  for  mercy.  Some  way  in  the  clearness  of 
judgment  as  to  simple  right  and  wrong  that  comes  to 
a  mind  on  the  confines  of  death,  he  found  himself  con 
demned.  He  was  haunted  by  a  vision  that  came  to  his 
mind  first  the  day  he  decided  against  conviction,  at  all 
hazard,  to  follow  the  family  of  Rizpah  and  Harri- 
mai  to  Gerash.  The  vision  was  that  of  the  false 
prophet  Zedekiah,  making  himself  horns  of  iron,  and 
with  them  appearing  before  the  wicked  King  of  Israel, 
Ahab,  to  proclaim,  not  the  things  of  God,  but  the 
things  the  prophet  knew  would  meet  the  desires  of 
his  royal  masfr*".  The  wounded  often  fall  asleep  ; 
it's  nature's  way  of  recovering  from  a  shock  and  of 
chaining  pain  in  forgetfulness.  Sir  Charleroy  knew 
not  whether  he  was  sleeping  or  not ;  but  the  vision 
passed  in  painful  vividness  over  his  mind.  He  heard 
the  prophet's  voice  saying :  "  Go  up  to  Ramoth 


1 80  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

Gilead,  and  prosper."  Then  he  saw  a  true  prophet 
of  God  standing  nigh,  with  sorrowful  countenance, 
and  the  face  was  that  of  the  Madonna.  The  latter 
moaned  in  his  ear,  warningly  ;  "  Who  shall  persuade, 
that  he  may  go  up  and  fall  at  Ramoth  Gilead?  Then 
there  came  forth  a  spirit  and  said,  I  will  persuade  " 

The  spirit  was  black-garbed,  in  a  blood-spotted  gan 
ment,  and  wore,  as  Sir  Charleroy  seemed  to  see  the 
apparition,  a  scarlet  crescent,  and  the  knight  thought 
of  Astarte.  He  heard  in  his  vision  the  beatings  as 
of  mighty  wings,  rising  to  flight,  and  tried  to  turn 
and  see  who  the  departing  one  was.  It  seemed  as 
if  the  spirit  of  Astarte-like  countenance  transfixed 
him  with  a  gaze,  so  he  could  not  turn  ;  but  a  lone 
liness  and  darkness,  almost  palpable,  came  over  him,  and 
he  knew  it  was  the  Madonna-faced  prophet  that  had 
departed.  The  knight  started  up  as  if  to  rise,  but, 
awakening,  found  Rizpah's  restraining  arms  about  him. 

"Stay,"  she  soothingly  said.  "Thou  art  feverish, 
and  too  weak  to  rise.  Thou'lt  be  better  presently; 
the  blood  has  ceased  flowing." 

"Oh,"  he  groaned;  "I  had  such  a  dream!" 

Just  then  Rizpah  beheld  coming  in  the  distance, 
from  toward  Gerash,  a  horseman,  at  rapid  pace.  Her 
first  thought,  "The  enemy  returns."  Her  second 
brought  her  hand  swiftly  to  her  reeking  dagger,  as 
she  soliloquized:  "He's  only  one,  and  I'm  one;  if 
but  a  woman." 

The  rider  drew  nearer,  and  she  was  almost  over 
come  with  the  revulsion  from  fear  and  despair ;  for 
the  comer  was  Laconic,  the  "  news  runner."  He 
knew  the  maiden,  and  wheeling  his  steed  to  her  side 
with  his  usual  brevity,  cried  out: 


Astarte  or  Mary?  181 

''Why,  didst  thou  kill  both?" 

"  Shame  on  thee  ;  'twas  the  Arabs !  " 

"  I  thought  so.  I  met  two  horsemen  and  two  rider 
less  steeds,  galloping  away  down  the  road.  I  knew 
they'd  been  at  some  devilment." 

"  Good  runner,  in  the  the  name  of  God,  speed  thee 
to  Bozrah,  or  somewhere,  for  help,  and  bring  it  quickly." 

"  Bring?  not  so  ;  send.    /  come  not 'till my  set  day !" 

"  Any  thing  ;  but  hurry  !  " 

"  Hurry!     Yes,  hurry  !     I  love  hurry." 

He  was  away  like  an  arrow,  in  his  course.  His  steed 
leaped  over  one  of  the  dead  miscreants  and  Laconic 
shouted  back  :  "  Carrion  dinners  !  Thank  God !  " 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

FROM   RAMOTH   GILEAD   TO   DAMASCUS 


'Daughters  of  Eve !  your  mother  did  not  well: 
*  *  *  *  *  *          * 

The  man  was  not  deceived,  nor  yet  could  stand  : 
He  chose  to  lose  for  love  of  her,  his  throne, — 
With  her  could  die,  but  could  not  live  alone." 

'  Daughters  of  Eve  !  it  was  for  your  dear  sake 
The  world's  first  hero  died  an  uncrowned  king : 
But  God's  great  pity  touched  the  great  mistake 
And  made  his  married  love  a  sacred  thing  ; 
For  yet  his  nobler  sons,  if  aught  be  true, 
Find  the  lost  Eden  in  their  love  of  you." 

— JEAN  INGELOW. 

OR  many  days  Sir  Charleroy  lay  wounded  at 
the  house  of  the  Patriarch  Harrimai,  and 
she  for  whom  he  had  periled  his  life  was 
his  constant  attendant.  He  sorely  needed 
her  services,  and  all  Gerash,  the  priest  included,  con 
ceded  the  fitness  of  Rizpah's  rendering  the  aid  she  was 
able  to  render.  The  maiden  was  all  willing  to  minister, 
and  as  she  ministered  her  interest  m  the  man  deep 
ened.  When  she  began  to  look  up  to  him  as  her  teacher 
before  the  battle  with  Mamelukes,  she  began  a  sort  of 
worship  ;  when  she  saw  him  fighting  to  the  death  in  her 
behalf,  her  worship  became  an  engrossing  adoration. 
If  there  had  been  any  thing  more  required  in  order  to 


From  RamotJi  Gilcad  to  Damascus.  1 83 

enlist  all  the  affection  of  which  her  being  was  capable, 
these  opportunities  of  administering  to  her  suffering 
lover  furnished  it.  As  God  loves  because  He  has 
helped  a  needy  one,  so  a  woman's  heart  easily  flows  out 
toward  the  object  for  whom  she  has  performed  pious 
services.  On  the  other  hand,  Sir  Charleroy  was  more 
and  more  enchanted,  for  there  is  life  and  charm  beyond 
all  description  to  the  touch  of  the  queen  of  a  man's 
heart  when  he  is  in  trouble  or  pain. 

Rizpah,  in  woman's  most  queenly  garb,  the  one  ap 
pointed  her  at  her  creation,  that  of  "  help-mate,"  was 
beautiful  indeed,  and  queenly  indeed,  to  the  man  whose 
heart  had  enthroned  her.  When  alone,  they  treated 
each  other  with  the  frank,  earnest  tenderness,  fitting  as 
well  as  natural,  to  the  betrothed.  Though  they  did 
not  admit  it  even  to  themselves,  they  had  fully  deter 
mined  to  be  one,  at  all  peril,  in  spite  of  any  opposition, 
reason  approving  or  disapproving.  They  often  said  to 
one  another,  "  Our  betrothal  taking  place  at  the  very 
gates  of  death  was  therefore  a  very  solemn  one  that 
nothing  on  earth  can  annul."  The  sentiment  was  per 
fect  and  very  agreeable;  and  with  the.rn  a  beautiful 
and  agreeable  sentiment  became  as  controlling  as  if  it 
were  a  revelation  from  heaven.  In  this,  they  were 
perfectly  human.  They  even  persuaded  themselves  of 
God's  favor,  thanking  Him  for  what  they  were  pleased 
to  call  His  Providence,  namely  the  peril  and  long  sick 
ness  leading  to  the  betrothal  and  days  of  love-life  to 
gether.  They  were  right  in  conceding  that  God's  hand 
was  in  the  battle ;  but  they  were  impious  in  interpret 
ing  His  Providence  to  be  fully  in  accord  with  their 
desires.  In  this,  too,  they  were  very  human.  But  there 
were  shadows  about  them  ;  for  while  at  times  they 


1 84  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

drifted  along  on  prismatic  tides  of  Lethean  delights, 
there  were  other  times  when  they  remembered  that 
there  was  to  come  a  day  of  explanation,  with  probable 
following  storms.  Both  were  glad  and  sorry  at  once,  in 
view  of  each  day's  improvement  of  the  knight's  physi 
cal  condition.  Convalescent,  they  both  realized,  meant 
a  great  change  in  their  relationship ;  perhaps  a  long 
separation.  Their  anxiety  was  deepened  by  a  change  in 
the  demeanor  of  Rizpah's  father.  His  eyes  no  longer 
questioningly  followed  the  young  people ;  but  his  words, 
uttered  in  tones  of  steelly  coldness  and  very  deliber 
ately,  bespoke  discovery,  conviction,  conclusion  and 
determination.  One  sentence  often  addressed  to  the 
lovers,  was  to  them  like  the  rumblings  of  an  approach 
ing,  gathering  storm.  "  Our  friend  is  improving,  and 
I'm  very  glad  that  he  will  be  able  soon  to  go  to  his 
own  dear  people."  The  lovers  discerned  a  peculiar 
emphasis  on  the  words  "  I'm  glad  "  and  "  his  own  dear 
people."  The  politic  priest,  having  read,  as  from  an 
open  book,  the  heart-secret  of  the  young  people,  was 
awaiting  with  self-confidence  an  opportunity  to  con 
found  them  utterly.  The  crisis  came  one  Sabbath 
morning,  just  after  the  morning  meal  of  the  convales 
cent.  Harrimai  had  paid  his  usual  visit  and  uttered  his 
steelly  sentences.  This  time  the  words  seemed  espe 
cially  cruel  to  Rizpah,  for  she  was  nervous,  indeed  ill; 
the  prolonged  services  and  anxieties  she  had  experi 
enced  of  late  were  telling  on  her  strength.  As  Harri 
mai  departed,  she  gave  way  to  a  flood  of  tears.  Riz 
pah  was  not  wont  to  weep,  nor  was  Sir  Charleroy 
skilled  in  comforting;  but  both  he  and  she  were  lovers, 
hence  it  seemed  very  natural  to  her  frankly  to  pillow 
her  head  on  the  knight's  shoulder,  and  very  natural  to 


From  Ramoth  G Head  to  Damascus.  185 

him  to  seek  to  comfort  with  a  tenderness  all  new  to 
him.  Had  one  asked  Rizpah  if  she  were  going  back  to 
babyishness,  or  forward  toward  heaven,  she  could 
not  have  answered.  Had  one  asked  the  knight  if  he 
were  becoming  motherly,  or  turning  priest,  he  could  not 
have  answered.  He  felt  very  tender,  and  his  work  of 
comforting  seemed  like  an  an  act  of  high  piety.  Both 
were  glad  of  the  tears  which  brought  the  joy  of  com 
forting  and  being  comforted,  then,  there  and  that  way. 
They  were  passing  into  a  superb  mood  when  quite  un 
expectedly  to  them,  but  quite  expectedly  to  himself, 
Harrimai  suddenly  re-entered  the  apartment.  He 
expected  to  surprise  them  and  he  did  so,  thoroughly. 
The  scene  following  was  exciting,  dramatic  and 
decisive. 

Rizpah,  with  a  slight  scream,  disengaged  herself 
from  Sir  Charleroy's  embrace,  and  hid  her  face  in  her 
hands.  The  eyes  of  the  knight  and  priest  met ;  neither 
quailed  ;  both  remained  for  a  few  moments  silent  ;  but 
their  fixed  gaze  said  plainly  enough,  each  to  each,  "  We 
must  have  a  settlement  here  and  now !  "  Harrimai 
spoke  first,  addressing  himself  to  his  daughter :  "  Young 
woman,  this  conduct  is  immodest  and  disgraceful!  In 
a  Hebrew  maiden,  heaven  defying  !  I'll  speak  to  thee 
further  of  this  presently.  Now,  begone,  and  leave  me 
to  deal  with  this  man  !  "  Harrimai  made  arrogant  by 
his  profession  and  the  implicit  obedience  he  had  been 
wont  to  receive  from  his  followers,  expected  to  fill  the 
young  people  with  dismay  by  the  suddenness  of  his 
assault.  But  Rizpah,  though  young,  was  no  tongue-tied 
spring,  and  Sir  Charleroy  of  Gerash  was  still  Sir  Charle- 
roy  of  Acre. 

The  words  "  dishonorable,"  "immodest,"  stung  the 


T/ie  Queen  of  the  I  Tense  of  David. 

maiden  ;  sullenly,  defiantly  almost,  she  settled  bad-, 
in  her  seat  and  leaned  toward  the  knight,  as  if  to  say, 
"  I  cast  my  lot  with  this  man."  Her  eyes  plainly,  an 
grily  said  to  the  man  whom  all  her  life  hitherto  she 
had  reverently  obeyed,  '  Now  do  thy  worst."  It  was 
impious,  passionate,  love  going  headlong  from  filial 
duty  and  religious  instruction  to  the  shrine  of  Astarte. 
The  parent  was  chagrined  at  this  unexpected  repulse, 
but  with  his  usual  adroitness  pretending  not  to  notice 
it,  he  turned  to  the  knight.  "  Stranger,  this  outrage  ex 
cuses  abruptness  on  my  part  ;  who  art  thou  ?  " 

Sir  Charleroy  arose    from   his   hammock,  the  excite 
ment  and  shock  of  the  rencounter  finishing  his  recov- 
1  cry,  by  rousing  all  the  machineries  of  his  system  into 
normal  activities. 

"  Sir  Priest,  I've  nothing  to  conceal.  I  love  the  truth 
and  this  maiden  too  well  to  lie — I  am  a  Christian 
knight." 

"  I  knew  it ;  but  thy  confession  shortens  our  parley. 
Now,  '  Christian  knight,'  tell  me  why  thou  didst  attempt 
to  allure  to  thyself  the  affections  of  a  mere  girl  ;  a 
Jewish  maiden  whom  thou  canst  never  hope  to  wed? 
Dost  thou  so  pay  our  hospitality;  setting  at  defiance 
parental  authority  and  our  Jewish  laws?  Dost  thou 
under  the  favors  of  this  house  intrigue  to  quench  all 
its  light  ?  " 

"  Thou  brandst  that  girl  and  me  with  the  epithet '  dis 
honorable  ;  '  and  thou  a  priest!  Men  of  thy  holy  call 
ing  should  never  slander,  especially  not  their  own 
kin  and  strangers."  The  knight  was  livid,  but  not  with 
fear. 

"Can  an  Israelite  slander  Crusaders?  these  profes 
sors  of  high  religion,  these  followers  of  an  impostor, 


From  RamotJi  Gilcaa  to  Damascus.   -.        187 

these  enemies  of  my  people,  these  practicers  of 
intrigues,  races,  jousts,  gluttonies  and  drunkenness  ; 
men  whose  sole  serious  business  is  murderous  war? 
Tell  me?  " 

The  knight's  face  flushed  a  little,  but  with  complete 
self-control  he  replied  : 

"  Some  of  my  comrades  have  been  unworthy  men} 
"tis  true;  but  some  Jews  have  fallen  to  every  crime 
and  violence.  Have  all  fallen?  Thou  hast  not,  per 
haps  !  Shall  all  be  maligned  for  the  few  ?  What  says 
Harrimai  ?  " 

"  Thou  art  of  those,  who  come  to  thrust  us  out  of 
our  land  and  thrust  in  here  a  hated  creed  !" 

<l  I  am  of  those  who  live  to  serve  the  needy  and  erring." 

"To  the  proof;  I've  heard  from  thy  clans  only  of 
bloodshed." 

"  Our  order  sprung  up  four  hundred  years  ago,  under 
the  stirring  appeals  of  religionists  as  pious  and  hu 
mane  as  thou  ;  or  any  of  thy  kind  since  Aaron.  We 
were  begotten  in  a  time  when  grim  famine  made  the 
well-fed  wondrous  kind.  Those  hours  that  make  men 
universally  akin." 

"  Go  on  ;  '  Christian  knight,'  I'd  like  a  lesson  of 
that  sort." 

''  Then  remember  Noah's  covenant  of  peace.  On 
our  banners  often  we  have  our  spirit  expressed  by  a 
dove  flying  toward  a  tempest-tossed  ark ;  in  the  mes 
senger's  beak  an  olive  branch  ;  around  the  whole  the 
bow  of  promise." 

"  Well  what  of  all  this 

"  The  ark  is  the  world  ;  the  rest  is  plain." 

"  Oh,  a  charming  theory,"  sarcastically  responded 
Harrimai. 


1 88  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  I  wear  it  next  my  heart;"  so  saying  the  knight 
threw  aside  his  cloak  and  drew  from  around  his  body  a 
banner  he  had  hitherto  concealed.  "See  here,  '  cJias- 
tity,  'temperance,'  'courtesy.'  Our  mottos  in  peace  or 
war !  Women,  children  and  pilgrims,  in  a  word  the 
needy  the  world  around,  are  the  wards  of  all  true 
Christian  knights  !  " 

"  Mottoes!  words!  Oh,  yes,  words  !  But  then  the 
Crusaders  have  used  swords !  Their  words  I'll  meet 
with  words  to  their  confounding,  nor  while  I  live  will  I 
forget  their  cruel  weapons."  So  saying  the  priest  swept 
out  of  the  sick  chamber  in  manifest  rage. 

He  returned  in  a  moment,  and  with  the  self-com 
mand  of  wrath,  conscious  of  power,  said  :  "  Thou 
wouldst  make  all  men  akin  /  Thou  and  thine  are 
dreamers,  the  world  thinks ;  to-day  it  laughs  to  scorn 
this  bootless  pursuit  of  a  chimera.  Leave  us  forth 
with  and  in  the  peace  that  thou  foundst  here.  When 
the  kinship  is  reality,  thou  mayst  come  to  us  for  fur 
ther  talk ;  'till  then  remember  thou  art  a  Christian,  I 
a  Jew  ! " 

"Thou  art  religious!  Heavens!  what  "»  tender 
shepherd." 

Harrimai  was  very  much  angered,  but  he  retorted 
with  self-control  ;  "  Oh,  yes,  and  the  God  of  all  hath 
seven  garments.  In  creation,  honor  and  glory ;  in 
providence,  majesty  ;  as  lawgiver,  might  and  whiteness  ; 
of  spotless  light  when  he  appears  as  a  Saviour.  He  is 
clad  with  zeal  when  he  punishes,  and  with  blood  red 
when  He  revenges.  I  would  be  like  Him.  By  the 
glory  of  God  !  thou  follower  of  Nazereth's  Impostor, 
sooner  than  suffer  thy  blood  to  contaminate  my  family 
iines,  I'd  hew  thee  to  pieces  as  Agag  was  hewn !  Riz- 


From  Ramoth  Gilcad  to  Damascus.   -          1 89 

pah,  thou  knowest  me  ;  \ved  him  and  thou'lt  be  wid 
owed,  though  carrying  the  unborn  ;  though  widow-hood 
broke  thy  heart.  I'd  rather  a  thousand  times  see  thee 
lying  dead  by  thy  true  Jewish  mother  than —  — ." 
The  priest,  in  a  tumult  of  fanatical  passion  mingled 
with  the  grief  of  offended  pride,  lacked  for  words  to 
express  the  climax  of  his  feelings;  so  covering  his 
tearless  eyes,  as  one  weeping,  he  rushed  out  from 
those  he  had  assailed.  He  persuaded  himself  that  he 
had  spoken  all  for  the  glory  of  God  ;  the  lovers  thought 
of  their  solemn  betrothal  and  their  love  which  they 
were  certain  was  as  fine  as  any  earth  ever  knew,  and 
they  felt  that  they  were  martyrs.  Both  sides  appealed 
to  God  and  in  a  spirit  very  ungodly,  but  very  human, 
braced  themselves  for  opposing  war. 

When  the  maiden  became  somewhat  calm,  Sir 
Charleroy  found  words  to  question  : 

"  Harrimai  cannot  find  heart  to  blast  his  idol's  hap- 
ness !  H  e  does  not  mean  all  he  said  ?  " 

"  Alas,  he  does.  It's  part  of  the  Patriarch's  religion 
to  hate  such  as  thou,  as  he  does.  He  means  more,  if 
possible,  than  he  spoke.  Our  people  unveil  the  bosom 
and  cover  the  mouth  ;  thine  cover  the  bosom  and  unveil 
the  mouth.  Ye  talk,  we  burn." 

"  Has  pure  love  like  ours  no  sanctity  in  his  sight  ?  ' 

"Alas,  he  can  not  believe  any  love  pure  that  is  be 
tween  Gentile  and  Israelite.  He  was  sneering  at  ours 
a  few  evenings  ago,  when  he  remarked  as  we  were 
looking  at  the  stars,  '  Hyperius  or  Venus  of  the  even 
ing  is  mistakenly  called  the  star  of  love.  Lucifer  of  the 
morning  is  the  true  emblem  of  most  young  love.  It 
rises  in  maddening  brightness,  but  fades  out  of  sight 


190  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

Grim  omen!  We  took  Venus  for  our  betrothal 
star;  they  say  it  is  so  bright  at  times  that  it  casts  a 
shadow.  I  feel  its  shadow  now,"  said  the  knight,  med 
itating. 

"Yes,  shadows  and  shadows!"  exclaimed  Rizpah. 
with  a  flood  of  tears,  and  she  swayed  back  and  forth 
as  she  wept.  She  was  driven  by  tempests  of  fear  that 
made  her  ready  to  flee,  and  held  by  anchors  of  passion 
ate  loving  that  made  her  ready  to  brave  all  fears; 
therefore  the  swaying  and  weeping.  At  intervals  the 
two  communed  and  debated  concerning  the  one  all- 
engrossing  theme,  their  future  course. 

"Rizpah,"  comfortingly  spoke  the  knight,  "  when 
in  the  greatest  peril  of  our  lives,  we  were  drawn,  by 
danger,  closer  to  each  other."  There  was  a  glance  of 
entreaty  in  her  eyes  as  if  to  say,  "  Go  save  thy  life  and 
let  the  Jewish  maiden  die  alone ;"  but  the  knight  drew 
her  to  his  bosom,  and  she  responded  by  an  embrace  of 
passionate  clinging. 

"  I  go  from  Rizpah  only  at  her  command  or  death's," 
said  the  knight  solemnly. 

The  maiden  shuddered,  and  again  passionately  clung 
to  her  lover.  He  interpreted  her  action,  and  again 
comfortingly  spoke: 

"  Fear  not ;  earth  has  somewhere  a  refuge  for  us 
until  death  call  us  !  " 

"  Somewhere  ?     What,  go  away  ?" 

"  Yes.     It  is  that  or  separation." 

She  knew  that  full  well.  But  to  flee  from  home  with 
the  knight,  the  alternative  presented  to  her  mind, 
startled  her.  At  first  thought  it  seemed  a  reckless- 
perilous,  unfilial,  God-defying  act  ;  then  it  seemed  at 
tractive  because  so  daring.  A  tumult  of  arguments. 


From  RamotJi  Gilead  to  Damascus..  191 

questionings,  fears  and  yearnings  mingled  in  her  mind. 
She  had  never  learned  to  arrange  arguments,  pro  and 
con,  judicially.  What  woman  whose  feelings  were 
aroused  ever  did  that  ? 

He  pressed  on  her  flight,  enforcing  each  reason  pre 
sented  with  an  affectionate  embrace  ;  her  tongue  spoke 
not,  but  her  embraces  replied  to  each  of  his.  She  had 
a  conscience,  and  it  asserted  itself  until  she  placated  it 
by  a  half  formed  resolution  to  be  very  prudent  and  do 
nothing  rashly.  The  resolution  comforted  her  at  first ; 
then  she  began  to  follow  it,  mentally,  to  its  sequence. 
She  thought  of  her  father  praising  her  piety  as  her 
purpose  was  disclosed.  Something  within,  coming  like 
a  voice  from  her  heart,  mockingly  whispered  "  Go  on." 
She  pursued  the  meditations,  and  heard,  in  imagina 
tion,  her  neighbors  praising  her  as  a  martyr  of  love  for 
faith's  sake.  Again  the  mocking  inner  voice  said,  "Go 
on."  Again  her  thoughts  moved  forward  until  she  saw 
that  conscience  was  driving  her  to  separation  from 
Sir  Charleroy  ;  in  a  word,  making  her  walk  in  a  funeral 
procession,  her  own  dead  heart  on  the  bier.  The 
thought  made  her  shudder  and  recoil;  then  the 
knight's  arms  encircled  her  more  closely  than  before. 
Again  and  again  she  took  the  foregoing  mental  jour 
ney,  again  arid  again  recoiled,  shuddering  from  the 
alternative  of  separation  from  her  lover,  and  at  each 
recoil  felt  his  grateful  embrace.  Each  time  she  trav 
ersed  the  mental  course  the  journey  toward  duty  by 
the  privation  of  love  seemed  more  onerous.  Distaste 
was  followed  by  repugnance  ;  then  utter  weariness.  At 
last,  utterly  wretched,  her  purposes  and  perceptions  fell 
into  hopeless  confusion,  and  she  exclaimed  "  Charle 
roy,  Charleroy,  save  me !  " 


192  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

The  knight  was  at  a  loss  to  divine  fully  her  mean- 
ing,  yet  tenderly  he  answered  : 

"Save  Rizpah  ?  She  knows  I'd  do  that  in  death's 
teeth!" 

"Oh,  Charleroy,  'tis  not  death,  but  life,  that  I  fear. 
How  shall  I  live?  " 

Quickly  he  ejaculated  : 

"  With  me,  forever,  and  safe !  " 

The  maiden  remembering  many  an  admonition  she 
had  heard  concerning  the  inconstancy  of  lovers,  yet 
driven  forward  by  the  all-abandoning  love  of  her 
woman's  heart,  gave  voice  to  all  she  felt  and  feared  in 
one  vehement  interrogation  : 

"  Oh,  Charleroy,  if  I  forsake  all  for  my  love  of  thec 
shall  I  ever  be  discarded  by—  —  ? 

The  knight  interpreted  her  meaning  in  advance,  and 
answered  by  an  embrace  that  was  all-assuring,  He 
was  rejoiced  beyond  words,  for  he  knew  full  well  that 
hesitation  and  questionings  like  hers  were  on  the  rim  of 
full  surrender.  Suddenly  he  became  very  serious  and 
felt  that  peculiar  glow  that  came  over  him  the  day  of 
his  departure  from  England  when  the  bishop  blessed 
him.  He  appreciated  in  a  measure  the  responsibility 
following  such  a  committal  of  another's  life  to  himself 
us  Rizpah  was  making,  and  he  embraced  her  with  an 
Anxious  reverence,  such  as  a  pietist  feels  clasping  an 
ideal  of  his  God.  It  was  well  for  both  that  the  man 
:vas  thus  impressed  by  the  committal  of  that  maiden 
of  her  soul  and  body  to  his  pilotage.  Pity  the  woman 
who  ^:ches  the  extremity  Rizpah  had  reached  if  her 
conquer  r  be  not  white-souled  and  sincere. 

RizpaV  an  incarnation  of  passion,  a  wreath  of  lotus 
flowers  or.  a  sea  of  delight,  tossed  by  the  winds,  borne 


From  Ra-inotli  Gil  cad  to  Damascus  193 

by  the  tides,  surrendered  all  thoughts  that  might 
disturb,  that  she  might  enjoy  what  she  had  embraced 
as  her  fate  to  the  full. 

Sir  Charleroy  constantly  prayed  within  himself, 
"  My  mother's  God  help  me  to  deal  as  purely  with  my 
sacred  charge  as  I  would  with  the  Virgin  Patron  of  my 
knightly  order,  were  she  here  now  to  seek  my  knightly 
services."  The  prayer  was  effectual,  for  the  Knight 
sincerely  sought  to  make  it  so. 

Decisive  action  followed  this  interview  between  the 
lovers.  That  very  night  they  fled  together  from  Gerash, 
and  with  only  one  trusty  servant ;  after  many  vicissi- 
tude3  they  reached  Damascus.  For  a  time  Rizpah 
placated  her  conscience  by  asserting  that  she  would 
not  consent  to  the  wedding  ceremonial  until  it  could 
have  her  father's  approval,  or  that  of  some  Jewish 
Rabbi.  Finding  it  impossible  to  obtain  these,  she  irre 
solutely  suggested  the  advisablity  of  delaying  until 
some  change,  quite  vaguely  apprehended,  might  come. 
But  there  were  two  Rizpah's — one  that  wanted  to  be  a 
faithful  Jewess,  and  one  that  wanted  only  and  con 
stantly  a  darling  idol.  Sir  Charleroy  sided  with  the 
latter;  it  was  two  to  one,  and  the  one  surrendered. 
Ere  long  a  Christian  missionary  at  Damascus  sealed  the 
vows.  They  confided  their  story  to  him,  as  if  to  ask 
his  advice  as  to  what  they  had  best  do,  but  with  the 
impetuosity  of  lovers  they  had  decided  their  course 
before  they  asked  advice,  and  did  not  even  ask  it 
until  they  had  pledged  their  vows  before  this  priest. 
But  it  was  a  balm  to  conscience  to  ask  advice.  And 
the  Sacrist  answered  them  briefly  :  "  Venus  and  Mer 
cury,  fabled  deities  of  love  and  wisdom.  They  are 
much  alike  in  the  firmament,  and  revolve  in  orbits  in 


IQ4  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

accord  with  the  earth's.  Methinks  it  is  wisdom  to  love 
in  the  earth.  But,  children,  Venus  sets  sooner  than 
Mercury;  see  to  it  that  you  make  it  your  wisdom  to 
love  as  long  as  you  go  round  with  the  world."  Then 
they  both  said  "Amen."  For  a  moment  Sir  Charleroy 
heard  within  him  that  impressive  sound  as  of  the  beat 
ing  of  mighty,  departing  wings.  Me  dragged  his  at 
tention  quickly  from  the  introspection  to  gaze  into 
the  eyes  of  his  bride.  He  was  glad  that  a  Chris 
tian  priest  had  prayed  for  a  blessing  upon  himselv 
and  her,  but  all  sophistry  aside,  the  truth  remained. 
\starte's  was  the  presiding  spirit  at  that  wedding,, 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE   THEATER   OF    GIANTS. 

'''  Once  more  we  look  and  all  is  still  as  night, 
All  desolate  !     Groves,  temples,  palaces 
Swept  from  the  sight  and  nothing  visible, 
*     *     *     *     Save  here  and  there 
An  empty  tomb,  a  fragment  like  a  limb 
Of  some  dismembered  giant." 

ct  Og,  the  King  of  Bushan,  came  out  against  us  to  batt!?  a 
Edrei,  and  the  Lord  said  unto  me,  Fear  him  not:  for  I  will  deliver 
him,  anil  all  his  people,  and  his  land,  into  thy  hand.  And  we  took 
*  *  *  *  three-score  cities  of  the  Kingdom  of  Og,  in  Bashan." 
— Deut.  iii.] 

"  Bashan  is  the  land  of  sacred  romance."  "  His  mission  [Paul's, 
Gal.,  i  :  15]  to  Bashan  seems  to  have  been  eminently  successful. 
Heathen  temples  were  converted  into  churches,  and  new  churches 
built  in  every  town."  "  In  the  fourth  century  nearly  the  whole  of 
the  inhabitants  were  Christian."  "  The  Christians  are  now  nearly 
all  gone."  "  Nowhere  else  is  patriarchal  life  so  fully  exemplified." 
"  Bashan  is  literally  crowded  with  towns,  the  majority  of  them 
deserted,  but  not  ruined."  "  Many  are  as  perfect  as  if  finished 
only  yesterday." — PORTER'S  "  Giant  Cities.'''1 


OR  a  brief  period  the  delightful  seasons,  the 
famed  rivers,  the  stately  surrounding  moun 
tains,  the  paradisiacal  plains,  the  antiqui 
ties,  the  pleasure  gardens  and  palaces  of  the 
city  of  Damascus,  whose  name  by  interpretation  is 
'°  change,"  offered  sought-for  gratification  to  the  knight 


196  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

and  his  bride.  Harrimai  died  suddenly  after  the 
elopement  of  his  child,  the  only  person  on  earth  whom 
he  truly  loved,  the  only  one  that  had  ever  successfully 
defied  his  mandates.  He  had  purposed  disinheriting 
her  for  her  act,  but  before  he  could  execute  that  pur 
pose,  death  disinherited  him.  Some  said  that  he  died 
of  a  broken  heart ;  the  physicians  said  he  was  taken  off 
by  a  fit  ;  Sir  Charieroy  said  he  died  because  his  proud 
will  was  crossed.  Rizpah  inherited  a  fortune  that 
helped  both  her  and  her  husband  to  forget  the  old 
priest's  maledictions  by  enabling  them  to  enjoy  all 
there  was  to  be  enjoyed  in  Damascus,  "  the  eye  of  the 
East."  They  gave  up  unreservedly  to  pleasure,  and 
centered  the  world  more  and  more  in  themselves.  Sir 
Charieroy  did  this  easily,  reasoning  that,  having  had 
so  many  pains,  he  was  entitled  to  compensating  pleas 
ures.  He  heard  from  England ;  and  the  news  was  to 
the  effect  that  there  had  been  changes  and  changes  in 
his  native  land.,  Many  of  those  he  once  knew,  includ 
ing  his  mother,  were  dead  ;  and  he  himself  was  forgot 
ten  as  dead.  Sententiously,  bitterly  he  summed  up 
his  feelings:  "They  thought  me  dead,  and,  my  mother 
and  her  fortune  being  gone,  did  not  care  to  find  out 
whether  I  was  dead  or  not ;  therefore  let  them  think 
as  they  thought."  Rizpah  feared  the  lashings  of  con 
science,  and,  having  given  up  every  thing  once  dear  to 
enter  the  life  she  had,  courted  forgetfulness  of  the  past, 
pleasure  for  the  present.  The  two  had  within  them 
selves  exuberant  youth,  a  wealth  of  possibilities  of 
happiness  ;  the  elements  that,  like  the  abundance  of 
the  volcano,  paints  the  sky  gorgeously  when  rising 
heavenward  ;  like  it,  in  the  downward  course,  followed 
by  darkness  and  disaster.  The  two,  differing  in  almost 


Tue  Theater  of  Giants.  197 

^very  thing  but  fervor  of  temperament,  were  in  accord 
in  pursuit  of  change;  they  persuaded  themselves  that 
they  were  growing  to  be  like  each  other,  when  they 
were  only  exalting  the  one  thing,  love  of  excitement; 
in  which  they  were  alike. 

Damascus,  naturally,  in  time,  became  uninteresting 
and  vapid  to  them  both.  They  wore  it  out ;  they 
wanted  new  scenes.  They  heard  that  a  caravan  of 
Mohammedan  pilgrims  was  to  pass  through  their  city 
on  the  way  to  Mecca  to  procure  besim  balm  and  holy 
chaplets,  and  promptly  determined  to  journey  with  it  ; 
but  not  to  Mecca.  The  caravan  was  to  pass  through 
Bashani  and  the  t\vo  excitement-seekers  desired  to  visit 
the  latter  land  of  wonders.  They  readily  garbed 
themselves  as  Mohammedans,  though  once  they  would 
have  loathed  such  garbing  as  a  defilement.  They 
desired  company  toward  Bashan,  and  since  the  time 
they  defied  their  consciences  in  order  to  be  wedded  to 
each  other,  their  consciences  had  been  wont  to  be  very 
submissive  in  the  face  of  their  desires.  They  explained 
to  themselves  the  absence  of  qualms  of  conscience  in 
the  face  of  a  pretense  of  being  Moslems,  as  the  result 
of  a  growth  toward  liberality  on  their  part.  The 
explanation  made  them  comfortably  complacent, 
although  the  fact  was  that  they  had  passed  far  beyond 
liberalism  toward  nothingism. 

Passing  Musmeth  and  Khubat  of  the  Argob,  they 
tarried  after  a  time  at  Edrei,  just  inside  the  shore  line 
of  that  mysterious  black,  lava  sea,  the  Lejah.  They 
were  in  a  country  where  nature,  art  and  desolation  had 
done  their  greatest.  Following  a  passing  impulse 
seemed  to  them  to  have  brought  them  thither,  but  one 
believing  in  God's  constant  providence  will  readily 


198  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

believe  that  they  were  led  thither  as  to  a  school.  There 
were  omen  and  prophecy  confronting  them.  These 
fervent  souls  had  gone  from  hymen's  altar  filled  with 
romancings,  under  a  glow  of  prismatic  auroras,  never 
pausing  to  perceive  that  from  each  wedding  time  there 
winds  a  troop  of  serious  years  burdened  with  many  a 
commonplace  duty.  Their  love  had  been  volcanic, 
their  impulses  ecstatic,  their  aims  toward  things  filled 
with  commotion.  The  wine  in  their  cup  was  to  leave 
dregs;  after  the  fire  there  was  to  be  ashes,  and  it  was 
fitting  that  they  contemplated  a  specimen  of  great  des 
olation  and  dreariness,  the  result  of  great  fires  and 
great  storms.  So  they  were  within  that  wonder  of  the 
world,  three  hundred  and  fifty  square  miles  of  awful 
plain,  filled  with  ruined  towns  and  cities.  Heaved  up 
here  and  there  by  jutting  basalt  rocks,  the  plain  seemed 
filled  with  black  ice-bergs  ;  ridged  at  intervals  the  plain 
suggested  an  ocean  wave-tossed.  Therein  is  many  a 
cave  and  cranny  place,  fit  abode  for  the  wild  beast  or 
robber ;  fit  abode  for  ghosts,  if  one  seeks  to  believe 
there  are  such.  But  therein  were  only  a  few  green 
spots,  oases,  to  bid  the  traveler  welcome.  Ere  long 
the  knight  and  his  consort  wore  out  the  Lejah,  and,  in 
so  doing,  in  part,  wore  out  themselves  They  had  a 
fullness  of  the  pleasure  of  the  kind  which  lacks  recrea 
tion.  As  it  was,  they  stayed  there  longer  than  it  was 
well  for  them  to  stay. 

Rizpah,  the  passion  flower  ot  Gerash,  experiencing 
the  supreme  exaction  of  womanhood  now,  began  to 
droop.  Months  spent  in  pursuit  of  excitement,  the 
great  change  in  her  manner  of  life,  as  well  as  the 
oppressive  desolations  of  her  surroundings,  had  drawn 
heavily  upon  her  resources  physically.  Reaction  after 


The  TJieater  of  Giants.  199 

exaltation,  and  nervous  discord  after  nervous  tension 
are  natural  results,  always. 

The  knight  discerned  the  change  of  temper,  and  as 
an  anxious  novice  went  about  correcting  the  matter. 
He  knew  little  concerning  woman,  except  that  love  of 
her  intoxicates ;  delighting  in  the  intoxication  he 
sought  to  stimulate  Rizpah's  flagging  energies  by 
pushing  her  onward  into  the  feverish  brilliancy  that 
was  so  delightful  to  himself.  It  was  an  attempt 
to  cure  physical  impoverishment  by  the  renewal  of  its 
causes.  She  was  at  times  complacent,  because  incom 
petent  to  resist  ;  passive,  because  enervated.  He  was 
most  selfish,  though  not  realizing  the  fact,  when  trying 
to  be  most  tender.  In  fact,  the  twain  were  on  the  rim 
of  a  test  period  in  their  married  life  and  being  unskilled 
in  its  common  places,  unfitted  to  stand  the  test.  Sir 
Charleroy  had  recourse  to  the  only  physician  he  deemed 
adequate  ;  one  whom  on  account  of  his  dress  he  called 
"  Old  Sheepskin."  This  xvas  a  guide,  with  a  motly 
group  of  Druses  assistants,  and  an  unpronouncible 
name. 

"  Come,  Rizpah,  '  Old  Sheepskin  Jacket '  has  put  on 
his  red  tunic  and  leathern  girdle  to  carry  us  a  camel 
voyage  in-sea  ;  if  we  do  not  give  the  man  a  job  he'll  fall 
to  stealing  again." 

Rizpah  languidly  shook  her  head, 

"  But  we  must  patronize  the  man  to  keep  up  jvhat 
little  honesty  he  has,  and  he  has  some.  He  told  me 
but  yesterday  he'd  rather  work  than  rob — though  the 
pay  be  less,  so  is  the  danger  less." 

The  knight  was  telling  the  truth  as  well  as  trying  tc 
be  facetious. 

Again   Rizpah  replied  with    a  weary  shake  of   the 


2OO  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

head,  her  hands  rising  deprecatingly,  then  falling  into 
her  lap  as  if  almost  nerveless. 

"  But,  Rizpah,  while  we  are  here  we  ought  to  fully 
explore  the  changeless  cities  of  this  dead,  black,  lava 
sea,  There  are  none  other  like  this  on  earth  !  'Tis 
nature's  desperate  effort  to  outrun  phantasmagoria," 

Rizpah  shook  her  head  and  waved  her  hands ;  this 
time  vehemently,  as  if  to  repel  a  horror. 

"  What  ?     A  fixed  no  ?  " 

"  No  more  excursions  into  this  counterpart  of  hades 
for  me." 

"Well,  so  be  it  to-day,  at  least,"  with  surrendering 
tones,  the  knight  replied. 

"  To-day  ?  All  days  !  Oh,  God,  remove  me  from 
this  nightmare?  " 

So  exclaiming,  the  woman  covered  her  eyes,  shud 
dered  and  wept  hysterically. 

Sir  Charleroy  was  almost  overcome  with  sudden 
amazement.  The  tears,  the  terror,  the  complete 
change  before  him,  were  beyond  his  comprehension. 
After  a  time  he  again  spoke  :  "  Why,  this  is  a  sudden 
freak  or  frenzy.  I  thought  Rizpah  fascinated  here  !  " 

"  I've  had  my  notice  from  the  dread  sprits  that  in 
fest  the  place  to  go  !  Didst  thou  note  what  dark  and 
threatening  clouds  dipped  down  like  vultures  upon  me 
when  we  were  last  there  ?  "  vehemently  Rizpah  replied. 

"  I  only  saw  a  threatening  of  rain  that  came  not.  It 
seldom  rains  in  the  Lejah." 

"  There  was  rain  enough  in  my  poor,  shivering,  weep 
ing  heart !  " 

"  But,  I  wonder,  Rizpah,  thou  didst  not  tell  me  of 
these  feelings  before!" 

"  I  could  not  confide  then  ;  I  was  too  jealous!" 


The  Theater  of  Giants.  201 

"Jealous?     What  a  word!     But  of  whom,  me?" 

"  I  can  never  forget  that  thy  union  with  me  has 
made  thee  alien  to  thy  people  and  in  part  neglectful  of 
the  faith  for  which  thou  didst  once  fight  bravely.  I 
can  no  t  forget  that  the  Teutonic  knight  was  the  devotee 
of  a  bepraised  Lady  Mary.  I  thought  of  this  that  black 
day,  and  I  felt  as  if  those  dry,  grim  clouds  were  her 
frowns.  It  was  thou,  my  Christian  husband,  who  named 
the  Lejah,  'Tartarus,'  and  it  has  been  such  for  some 
time  to  me.  Its  sight  has  constantly  burned  me  with 
remorse  !  That  day  it  seemed  to  me  thy  Mary  pitied 
thee  and  blamed  me  !  I  writhed  under  the  thought! 
I,  for  a  moment,  hated  her.  I  felt  like  climbing  some 
height,  and,  club  in  hand  with  defiant  curses,  challeng 
ing  her  right  to  have  a  finer  care  of  thee  than  I  have. 
I'd  have  done  it,  if  thou  hadst  not  been  here  to  laugh 
at  the  folly  of  my  frenzy.  Ah,  husband,  if  she  is  or  was 
all  that  thou  dost  depict  her,  she  can  not  love  me,  and 
thou  must  contrast  us  to  my  disparagement.  I  can  not 
forget  that  thou  wert  a  Christian  soldier ;  sworn  to  war 
for  her  and  her  son;  now  thou  art  wedded  to  me,  a 
daughter  of  her  and  His  persecutors!  " 

"Why,  Rizpah,  thy  changing  moods  are  appalling; 
thou  dost  beat  the  magicians  who  conjure  up  the  dead, 
since  thou  dost  create  out  of  nothing  the  most  hideous 
ghosts  to  haunt  thyself — Maya  !  Maya  !  " 

"Oh,  yes,  I  know  'Maya,'  wife  of  Brahm,  by  inter- 
pretation  'illusion.'  A  myth,  as  a  gibe,  has  a  sharp 
point,  effective  because  so  difficult  to  parry.  But,  alas, 
ridicule,  though  it  easily  tear  to  pieces  delusion,  is  power 
less  to  disperse  the  gloom  that  sits  in  a  soul  as  mine." 

"  I'll  not  ridicule  my  Rizpah,  but  I  would  bring  her 
light." 


2O2  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"Ah?  That  is,  resurrect  the  peace  thou  didst  mur 
der?" 

"Show  me  one  wound  my  hand  has  made  and  I'!. 
abjectly  beg  all  pardons,  attempt  any  atonement !  " 

"  Dost  thou,  knight,  remember  the  ruins  of  the  Chris 
tian  church  of  Saint  George,  at  Edrei  ?  " 

"  Certainly." 

"And  thy  conversation  there?" 

"  Yes,  that  Saint  George  was  England's  patron  saint^ 
famed  for  having  slain  the  dragon  which  imperiled  a 
king's  daughter." 

"More  thou  didst  say;  thou  didst  expatiate  on  the 
princess,  saying  her  name  was  Alexandra,  meaning, 
'  friend  of  mankind ' ;  further,  thou  saidst  there  was  a 
queenly  woman  by  name,  Mary,  daughter  of  the  King 
of  Kings,  friend  beyond  all  women  of  humanity,  for 
whom  every  true  knight  was  willing  to  be  a  Saint 
George." 

"True  enough;  but  to  what  purport  now  is  this 
reminiscence?  " 

"  Thou  saidst  Saint  George  was  loyal  to  the  death 
to  his  faith,  and  died  a  martyr!  " 

"  True  again.     What  of  it  ?  " 

"  Was  the  Teutonic  knight  thinking  of  himself  as  a 
martyr  because  wed  to  a  Jewess?  I  followed  thy 
thoughts,  though  they  were  not  all  spoken.  How  nat 
urally  that  day  thou  didst  tell  me  of  thy  visions  which 
thou  hadst  between  Gerash  and  Bozrah  when  wounded 
nigh  to  death.  The  English  saint,  knight,  very  loyal  to 
creed,  rebuked  in  his  dreams,  by  the  beating  of  mighty 
wings,  the  departing  of  his  heart's  rose  !  Oh,  why 
didst  thou  not  tell  me  this  before  it  was  too  late  !  I 
would  have  helped  thee  escape  the  ingenuous  Jewess 


The  Theater  of  Giants.  203 

Thou  didst  awaken  then  with  dread  bleeding,  to  find 
thyself  pillowed  upon  the  bosom  of  a  simple-hearted 
loving  girl ;  I  now  awaken,  wounded  indeed,  but  with 
none  to  staunch  the  wounding!  Why,  de  Griffin, 
didst  thou  keep  this  secret  so  long  ?  Why  unfold  it 
now  ?  " 

"I'd  be  the  Saint  George  of  Rizpah  and  slay  her 
dragon,  gloom." 

"  Poor  comfort  to  offer  since  the  gloom  is  beyond 
thy  powers !  Flout  my  mood  as  thou  mayst  ;  what 
use?  I  vainly  denounce  it.  Thou  hast  had  thy 
dream  ;  now  I'm  having  mine.  I'll  not  mock  thy  in 
sights ;  thou  canst  not  by  bantering  jeer  change  mine. 
My  Lejah  omens  assure  me  that  I'm  to  have  a  rain  of 
tears  and  more  ;  some  way  thy  Mary  will  be  their 
cause." 

"  Rizpah  errs  ;  the  queen  I  revere  was  a  living  epistle 
of  good  will ;  her  character  the  joy  and  inspiration  of 
all  women,  especially  of  those  in  tribulation.  But 
enough  !  Rizpah,  being  a  Jew,  should  abhor  the  necro 
mancy  of  omens  !  " 

"  Jew  !  Ah,  yes  ;  I  was  once  !  But  the  valiant  Eng 
lish  knight  lured  me  into  his  Christian  love  and  my 
race's  hate.  I  had  once  the  luxurious  faith  of  a  pious 
girl;  all  feeling,  all  flowers;  too  young  to  reason,  but 
young  enough  to  love  the  good  and  beautiful  unto  sal 
vation.  The  knight  poisoned  the  blossoms  before 
they  ripened  by  the  acids  of  ridicule !  There  is  a  loss 
beyond  repair  and  a  bitter  memory,  that  of  a  broken 
promise;  under  our  love-star  thou  didst  swear  thou 
wouldst  never  lightly  treat  my  believing.  Venus  has 
set,  Mercury  is  rising;  but  wisdom  brings  a  burning 
glare.  The  promise  that  the  knight  failed  to  keep  was 


204  The  Queen  of 'the  House  of  David, 

made  when  I  was,  he  said  his  idol ;  now  I'm  only  his 
wife !  " 

"  Rizpah  exchanges  die  glory  of  the  rose  for  the  bit 
ter  gray  of  the  wormwood." 

"I'm  thy  handiwork;  now  mock  the  result,  if  to  do 
so  comforts  thee." 

"  My  handiwork !  " 

"  Yes,  fool !  " 

"  These  words  are  awful." 

"  I  think  so  and  I  hate  them  ;  though  I  can  not  check 
them.  I  hate  my  temper  and  even  myself  when  in 
such  present  moods.  De  Griffin,  pray  as  thou  didst 
never  pray  before,  that  I  do  not  learn  to  hate  thee.  I 
pity  thee,  because  I've  some  love  left." 

"Pity?" 

"Yes,  when  I  imagine  thee  wriggling  beneath  the 
malignant  detestation  of  which  I  know  I  shall  soon  be 
capable." 

"  My  wife,  in  God's  dear  name,  banish  these  moods  ! 
They  are  impious,  unnatural  ;  the  crisis  of  thy  being 
falsely  accuses  thy  heart.  Be  calm  !  " 

"  Calm  ?  '  Be  calm  !  '  Very  good  ;  calm  me,  please, 
if  thou  canst.  Oh,  why  didst  thou  make  me  thus?" 

"  The  God  of  all  peace  forgive  me  if  I  did,  Rizpah ' 

"  Thou  wert  the  elder  and  shouldst  have  known?" 

"  What  ?  " 

"  That  to  unsettle  a  woman's  faith,  if  she  be  such  as 
I,  is  to  let  loose  a  bundle  of  blind  vagaries  and  to 
tumble  her,  like  a  drifting  wreck,  on  unknown  shores.'' 

"Oh,  wife,  as  thou  hopest  for  heaven  and  lovest  our 
unborn  child,  restrain  these  moods.  Thou'lt  mark  the 
one  to  be,  with  germs  of  all  evil ;  for  such  outbursts  of 
mothers  re-act  with  awful  effect  upon  their  offspring. 


The  Theater  of  Giants.  205 

Thou  knowest  how  the  old  nurse,  at  Damascus,  killed 
a  babe  in  an  instant,  merely  by  giving  it  her  breast 
after  she  had  yielded  to  .an  outbreak  of  passion.  Such 
tempers  hurl  poison  through  all  the  being!" 

"  Alas,  knight,  that  all  this  prudence  ever  comes  just 
a  little  too  late!  " 

"What  could  I  have  done  better?" 

"Left  the  little  maid  of  Harrimai's  home  free  from 
thy  enchantments  and  to  the  quiet  of  her  people's 
state." 

"But  I  loved  thee  so.     That  atones  for  all." 

"Thou  thoughtst  thou  lovedst,  but  'twas  my  form 
which  fascinated  thee,  not  my  mind  nor  soul!"  Riz- 
pah's  face  became  ashen  pale,  her  eyes  had  a  far-off 
gaze  and  were  steelly,  as  she  began  plaintively  to  repeat 
the  words,  '  There  ^vere  giants  in  the  earth  *  *  . 
They  saw  the  daughters  of  men,  AdamisJi,  that  they 
were  fair  and  they  took  tJiem  for  ivives  of  all  they  chose, 
and  they  bore  children  and  it  repented  the  Lord  that  He 
had  made  man,  for  He  saw  that  the  wickedness  was 
great  in  the  earth.'  Thou  wast  my  giant-lofty.  Thou 
stolest  my  heart  and  body.  Now  for  a  flood  to  punish 
the  sin,  and  my  tears  are  already  its  first  droppings." 

"  We  are  wed  ;  shall  we  ,iot  now  make  the  best  of  it  ? 
Even  when  into  this  mystic  alliance  unmated  lives 
converge,  they  can  still  with  wisdom  extract  from  it  at 
least  peace.  Go  fervently,  firmly,  back  to  the  faiths 
of  thy  girlhood  ;  become  again  all  thou  wert,  except 
that  thou  be  ever  mine." 

"  Ah,  ha !  how  little,  after  all,  thou  knowest  of  woman's 
heart?  Thou  wouldst  command  it  do  and  be  ;  and  go 
and  come,  wouldst  thou  ?  Thinkst  thou,  thou  canst 
make  such  heart  as  mine  wild  with  the  strange  intoxi- 


206  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

cations  of  unholy  fire,  filling  the  brain  above  it  with  ail 
the  clouds,  weird  longings,  doubtings  and  misgivings, 
that  fume  up  from  that  fire,  and  then  send  that  heart 
back  without  a  compass,  chart,  sail  or  helm,  to  find  the 
haven  ?  Send  it  lashed  by  remorse  part  of  the  time, 
part  of  the  time  half  dead  to  all  feeling,  and  all  the 
time  blind,  to  hunt  up  lost  creeds." 

"But  God  provided  an  ark;  let  us  ask  Him  to  aid  us 
build  one  in  a  home,  with  happy  parents  and  happy 
children,  Thou  readst  to  me,  but  yesterday,  the 
Prophets'  beautiful  description  of  a  lamp  burning  with 
oil  supplied  from  two  palm  trees  ;  one  on  either  side. 
I'll  interpret;  the  trees  are  parents,  the  lamp  the  light 
of  home,  manifest  in  posterity,  reproduction  ;  a  pro 
phecy  of  the  resurrection." 

"Beautiful  mysticism.  But  the  giantesque  men  rose 
to  play  at  lust,  just  beside  Sinai  of  the  law." 

"  Not  so  I,  the  Teutonic  knight,  now  the  husband. 
Rizpah;  thy  desperate  misery  appeals  to  all  my  man 
hood.  I  swear  to  thee  I'd  turn  my  heart's  blood  into 
the  oil  to  cause  our  home  to  glow  with  the  serene 
light  of  holy  happiness." 

"  Words,  words  ;  how  sad,  because  so  beautiful,  yet 
so  vain  !  " 

"  Oh  Rizpah,"  cried  the  knight,  too  anxious  to  be 
angry,  though  the  woman's  words  were  stinging,  "  thy 
looks  startle  me !  Pray  God  to  rest  and  hold  thy  wor 
ried  soul." 

"  Pray?  I  have  tried,  often  of  late,  to  pray,  but  I 
do  not  know  how.  I  fear  thou  hast  stolen  even  that 
power  from  me!  Ugh!  the  last  time  I  prayed,  my 
words  seemed  like  black  cormorants  rising  with  loads  of 
carrion  ;  then  falling  struck  dead  by  the  sun,  into  great 


The  Theater  uj  Giants.  207 

black  caves,  such  as  abound  in  our  Lejah  hell !  I 
heard  my  words  flung  back  at  me  in  mockery.  Pray?  I 
dare  not,  lest  God  strike  me  dead  fora  hypocrite  and  a 
heretic  ! " 

"  But  my  poor,  dear  wife,"  soothingly  said  Sir  Char- 
leroy,  "  He  is  merciful." 

"Oh,  yes,  to  the  good  and  the  faithful;  I'm  neither! 
I  gave  Him  up  for  a  man,  ?s  the  Adamish  men  gave 
h'm  up  for  women.  I  madest  thou  my  God,  and  now 
have  none  other;  for  He  of  the  heavens  is  very  holy, 
but  very  jealous! " 

"  Rizpah,  Rizpah,  do  not  thus  give  way  to  these  wild 
imaginations." 

"Give  way?  Alas,  all  is  already  given  away;  soul 
and  body  were  on  an  idolatrous  altar  long  ago.  I'm 
buried  in  the  ashes !  " 

"But  Rizpah,  trust  my  love:  I'll  help  thee  back  to 
peace  and  usefulness." 

"  Bah  !  the  masculine  great  I  — 

''  Heavens  !  woman,  is  there  any  love  in  a  heart  that 
so  hurls  javelins?" 

"  I  don't  know!     I  suppose  so,  for  I  pity  thee." 
"  Pity  me?  " 

"  Yes  ;  when  I  think  as  I  do  at  times,  that  thy  wife  is 
turning  into  a  devil,  a  very  devil  !  Sir  Charleroy  de 
Griffin,  knight  of  St.  Mary,  dost  hear  me  ?  A  devil,  a 
raging  devil,  and  one  that  will  pity  while  she  assails." 
The  last  sentence  was  almost  screamed,  then  the  woman 
fell  on  the  rug  of  their  apartment  and  wept  convulsively. 
After  a  little  there  was  the  silence  of  exhaustion,  of 
chagrin,  of  shame.  Sir  Charleroy  stood  by  the  prostrate 
form  and  with  words  ru'.lf  commanding  said  :  "  Let  us 
ride  out  a  little  way."  He  was  trying  a  new  strategy. 


208  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"No,  no,  no!  Thou'lt  take  me  to  the  Lejah,  and  I 
shall  see  that  drf;ad  omen  again." 

"What?"  As  he  questioned  he  raised  the  woman 
tenderly  from  the  floor. 

"  The  lava  desert,  in  long  rolling  waves,  black  and 
drear." 

"Ah,  Rizpah,  thou  knowest  that  it  was  only  thy  un 
reined  fancy,  heated  by  morbid  broodings,  that  changed 
the  eternally-fixed  furrows  of  the  plain,  overshad 
owed  by  running  clouds  into  threatening  billows  !  God 
and  the  sun  are  above  all  clouds  and  behind  every 
anxious  heart.  Look  up  ;  look  in,  until  thy  soul  finds 
Him  ;  then  the  horror  of  darkness  will  die  away." 

"  Oh,  how  thy  comfortings  hurt  me,  because  I  do  not 
believe  in  thee,  nor  believe  thee  !  Thou  sayst  that  thou 
didst  abandon  thy  Christian,  perfect  queen  of  women, 
for  me.  I  know  thou  must  be  chagrined  at  the  bad 
exchange!  I  can  not  honor  nor  trust  the  faithfulness 
of  one  so  fickle.  No  matter  for  that,  but  what  comes 
after  is  worse.  Those  black  sky-drapings  were  over  the 
Lejah  that  day  because  I  was  there.  I  know — I  know 
there's  a  tide  of  sorrow  rolling  toward  me.  I  see  it 
as  1  saw  those  black,  serpent-like,  lava  waves.  But,  oh, 
the  suspense  !  It's  awful  ;  let  the  worst  come  if  only 
soon  !  "  The  knight,  sworn  to  protect  helpless  women, 
saw  himself  disarmed  and  powerless  to  aid  the  one 
woman  of  earth  for  whom  he  would  have  died. 

Two  giants  at  bay  in  Giant  Land,  where  another 
mold  of  gianthood  had  died  leaving  nothing  but 
monuments  to  attest  the  greatness  of  the  failure.  The 
two  knew  only  this,  that  they  were  very  miserable  and 
powerless,  by  any  means  accustomed,  to  extricate 
themselves. 


The  Theater  of  Giants.  209 

Sir  Charleroy  wished  and  wished,  in  his  soul,  that  his 
patron  saint  and  queen  of  women  would  appear  and 
tell  both  what  to  do.  He  unconsciously  was  turning 
his  mind's  eye  in  the  right  direction.  Husband  and 
wife  both  believed  there  was  a  right  way,  a  pattern  of 
right,  and  an  ideal  of  heaven,  but  they  could  not  lay 
hold  of  them.  Giant,  crusader  and  husband,  each  in 
turn  strove  in  his  day  at  the  same  spot,  and  at  the 
same  point  failed. 

Sir  Charleroy,  in  mind,  went  out  along  a  strangely 
beset  line  of  thinking.  Sometimes  he  pitied  himself, 
and  that  brought  the  balm  of  conceit.  He  remem 
bered  it  was  a  fine  thing  to  be  a  martyr,  forgetting  that 
some,  rewardless,  suffer  as  sinners.  Sometimes  he 
heard  those  beatings  of  mighty  wings,  as  if  some  won 
drous  holy  one  were  departing.  Then  he  became  very 
penitent  and  full  of  the  entreatings  of  prayer.  Either 
mood  was  brief  enough  to  him  not  yet  converted  ;  a 
very  Peter  in  vacillations.  Whether  he  would  finally 
follow  the  beating  wings  or  sit  down  nigh  to  the  gates 
of  certain  insanity,  the  gates  that  those  who  over-much 
pity  themselves  are  sure  to  reach,  was  the  issue  in  his 
life  then.  The  bugles  of  war  call  few  to  the  hero 
ism  of  the  field,  but  millions  are  daily  called  by  God's 
bugle  to  the  better  achievements  which  make  for  glory 
amid  the  duties  of  common  life.  That  latter  bugle  was 
calling  him,  but  he  was  slow  to  obey,  or  understand 
even. 

The  events  recorded  in  the  foregoing  pages  roused 
Sir  Charleroy  to  an  anxious  effort  to  do  something  to 
change  the  currents  of  his  wife's  thoughts.  Necessity 
quickened  his  discernment,  and  though  he  had  had  but 
little  experience  in  dealing  with  those  ill  ir  the  body  or 


2  io  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

mind,  he  quickly  concluded  that  a  change  of  place  and 
a  change  of  pursuit  would  be  beneficial.  In  truth,  his 
own  feelings  attested  this  much.  He  himself  was  weary 
of  the  pursuit  of  excitement  as  a  sole  and  constant 
occupation. 

"Shall  we  leave  the  Lejah,  Rizpah?"  he  ques 
tioned,  a  few  days  after  the  outbreak  before  men 
tioned. 

"Yes,  I  say! — I'm  leaving  it!  See  here,"  and  she 
pointed  to  her  cheeks,  once  ruddy,  now  haggard.  "  Oh, 
Charleroy,  take  me  away  or  death  will !  " 

"Enough!    We'll  go.     But  where?" 

"Any  place  under  heaven  ;  say  the  word  and  I'll  run 
out  of  the  place  instantly,  leaving  all  here." 
What,  our  effects  !  " 

"Any  thing  to  get  away.  I  feel  like  a  child  ap 
proached  by  some  monster  terror,  hour  by  hour!  For 
days  I've  been  transfixed  by  my  fear  or  I  would  have 
run  away,  even  alone,  before  this.  Now  thy  words 
break  the  spell!  Come, Jet  us  go  before  I'm  overcome 
again  !  " 

"  There,  now,  be  calm.  No  more  of  this  undue  nerv 
ousness.  We'll  go,  and  soon.  What  says  Rizpah  to 
Bozrah,  southward  of  Bashan  ?  " 

"Yes,  to  Bozrah  ;  historic  Bozrah  !  "  and  the  face  of 
the  woman  brightened  as  she  went  on  :  "  It  was  the 
fairy  land  of  my  youth.  I've  wanted  to  go  there  since 
I  was  a  wee  little  thing,  scarce  able  to  walk."  Then 
the  woman  unbent  and  talked  with  the  rapture  of  a 
child  : 

"  Oh  ;  I've  wanted  to  see  Bozrah  all  my  life,  since 
the  days  when  my  old  nurse  used  to  talk  me  to  sleep 
with  stories  of  Og  and  his  bedstead  nine  cubits  long 


The  TJicatcr  of  Giants.  211 

and  how  our  little  Hebrew,  Moses,  overcame  those 
Rephaim." 

"  Thy  prophets  and  psalmists,  as  well  as  thy  nurses, 
were  wont  to  go  into  rapturous  descriptions  of  the  lofty 
oaks,  loftier  mountains,  ragged  plains,  marvelous  pas- 
t'jres  and  goodly  herds  of  the  Hauran  and  Trachon- 
«"tis. 

Rizpah  continued  in  gleeful  strain:  "Oh,  those 
herds  ;  if  I  can't  see  old  Og,  I'd  like  to  see  the  famous 
bulls  of  Bashan  !  Show  me  something  huge,  no  matter 
how  huge,  if  alive  and  not  black!  I'm  becoming  in 
fatuated  with  the  strong  and  the  large.  If  ever  I  lose 
my  soul  it  will  be  by  worshiping,  pagan-like,  some 
thing  mightier  than  I  can  imagine  ;  of  body  or  muscle. 
Yes,  yes,  I'll  be  a  thorough  pagan  since  I  can  not  be  a 
Jew  nor  a  Christian !  Now,  I  forewarn  thee."  So  say 
ing  she  laughed  merrily.  The  knight  was  rejoiced  to 
hear  the  musical,  natural  laughter  again,  and  encour 
aged  the  play  of  her  wit,  which  attested  a  mind  un 
bending  to  rest. 

"  Woman-like,  adoring  the  huge  when  the  grand 
can  not  be  found.  Thank  God,  the  giants  are  all  dead  ; 
there  are  none  at  Bozrah,  at  least.  I'll  not  fear  the 
littk  <iirty  Arabs,  or  pigmy  Druses  as  supplanters." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE      REVELS     OF     MEN     AND     RITES     OF     THEIB 
GODDESSES. 

"  Rude  fragments  now 

Lie  scattered  where  the  shapely  column  stood. 
Her  palaces  are  dust.     In  all  the  streets  the  sprightly  chords 
Are  silent.      Revelry  and  dance  and  show 
Suffer  a  syncope  and  solemn  pause  ; 
While  God  performs  upon  the  trembling  stage 
Of  His  own  works  His  dreadful  part,  alone." 

— COWPER. 

"  Then  shall  ye  know  that  I  am  the  Lord,  when  their  slain 
shall  be  among  their  idols,  round  about  their  altars  *  *  *  upon 
every  high  place  *  *  *  under  every  thick  oak." — Ezekiel  vi. 

|ASSING  from  Edrei  toward  Bozrah  the  pil 
grim  knight  and  his  wife  with  their  con 
voy  reached  Kunawat,  the  Kenath  of  Scrip 
ture,  once  the  dwelling  place  of  Job.  Here 
tor  a  time  they  abode.  The  number  and  variety  of 
castles,  temples,  theaters  and  palaces  in  ruins,  were 
sufficient  to  engage  the  attention  of  the  travelers  for 
many  days.  Rizpah  was  more  cheerful  than  she  was 
at  Edrei,  but  yet  restless  to  reach  Bozrah,  on  which 
place  her  heart  was  set. 

One  day  standing  before  an  old  Roman  temple  in 
Kunawat,  Rizpah,  somewhat  interested  by  its  well  pre 
served  Corinthian  columns,  and  Sir  Charleroy  deeply 
engrossed  in  contemplation  of  an  huge  stone  image,  the 
former  asks:  "  Has  the  knight  recognized  an  old  Eng 


The  Revels  of  Men  and  Rites  of  their  Godesses.  2  \  3 

lish  or  a  new  Bashan  love  ?  "  The  woman  was  finding 
the  oft-repeated  and  prolonged  visits  to  this  particular 
place  monotonous.  She  was  annoyed,  but  modified 
her  rebuke  into  raillery. 

"There  is  something  very  fascinating  in  the  Cyclo 
pean  face." 

"  A  broken  stone  fascinate  a  man  ?  But  I  see  'tis 
that  of  a  woman  ;  the  brain  part  gone.  Would  that 
the  English  knight  had  wed  such ;  then  he  might  have 
been  loyal  to  creed,  and  not  a  martyr!" 


ASTARTE. 


"  Rizpah  knows  that  I  could  never  have  loved  a 
brainless  face,  nor  any  one  akin  to  this  Kunawat 
goddess." 

"Not  if  she  echoed  thy  'aye'  and  '  nay  '  consist 
ently?  Be  careful  ;  as  many  strong  men  have  fallen  by 
having  their  conceit  gratified  as  there  have  fallen 
women  through  flattery." 


2 14  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  How  absurd  to  hint  that  I  could  be  so  lured." 
"  But  the  knight  says  Astarte  fascinates  !  " 
"  I   said   so,    meaning   that    I'm    fascinated   by   the 
train  of  thoughts  that  the  image  awakens.     Think  a 
moment  ;  we,    the    living   of   to-day   confronting   the 
acme  of  the  thought  of  the  ages  long  gone.     Looking 
at  this,  I  seem  to  be  seeing  over  rolling  centuries,  right 
into  the  hearts   of  humanity  that   lived  thousands  of 
years  ago." 

"All  this  might  have  been  taken  in  at  a  glance! 
Having  seen  it,  what  use  is  it  ?  " 

"  Use  ?  To  aid  in  finding  a  key  to  life's  problems. 
I'm  filled  with  questionings  ;  do  not  yearnings,  such  as 
b^at  through  the  being  of  the  ancients  pulse  in  those 
of  to-day?  Are  not  humanity's  temptations  and  needs 
ever  the  same  ?  " 

"  Since  the  ancients  did  not  tarry  to  compare  with 
us,  I,  being  only  a  woman,  of  Gerash,  of  to-day,  can 
give  only  the  shallow  answer,  I  suppose  so." 

"Oh,  I'm  not  questioning  Rizpah  ;  but  the  ruins,  the 
air,  time,  my  soul,  God  !  " 
"  And  their  reply  ?" 
"  Bewildering  echoes  of  each  question?" 
"Audit's  alia  mystery  to  Sir  Charleroy?" 
"  I  know  a  little  ;  something,  next  to  nothing." 
"  Possess  curious  me  of  that  little,  and  I'll  help  thee 
wonder  why  so  much  greatness  came  to  naught." 

"  That  wondering  is  easily  met  ;  they  had,  as  god,  one 
whose  head  could  be  broken  as  this  one's  was  ;  they 
that  would  survive  must  be  sheltered  by  the  Invin 
cible." 

Rizpah,  meanwhile  had  drawn  close  to  the  huge  stone 
face  and  placing  one  hand  beneath  the  mouth,  the 


The  Revels  of  Men  and  Rites  of  their  Goddesses.  215 

other  on  the  portion  of  the  head  just  above  the  moon 
crown,  her  arms  stretched  \vell  nigh  to  their  limits 
quizically  remarked  : 

"  Those  that  dined  with  her  must  have  had  pyramids 
for  chairs.  What  dost  thou  think  they  were  like?" 

"  Crusaders  ?  " 

"Now,  I'm  tantalized.  Crusaders  two  or  three 
thousand  years  ago  ?  How  absurd  !  " 

"  Oh,  certainly  they  were  not  known  by  the  name> 
Crusaders:  but  they  that  followed  Astarte  and  such 
like  deities,  whether  called  Kenaihites,  Rephaim,  Mos 
lem,  Christians,  or  by  other  appellation  are  all  soldier- 
pilgrims,  dominated  by  an  ideal.  There  have  been 
many  female  deities  among  the  pagans  and  there  is  a 
deal  of  paganism  left  in  humanity." 

"  That's  because  half  the  race  are  men.  Astarte 
would  be  very  popular  to-day  with  thy  sex,  if  she  were 
here  in  living  form,  a  whole  woman,  instead  of  a  frag, 
ment  and  beautiful  also — 

"Thou  dost  not  care  to  hear  more  of  the  female 
deities?  " 

"  Oh,  yes ;  I'll  be  fearfully  jealous  if  thou  dost 
keep  any  thing  back.  Tell  me  what  madmen  the 
ancients  were?"  She  paused,  slapped  the  face  of  the 
image,  ejaculating  "  Virago  /"  then  continued,  "  Why 
did  they  make  their  effigy  both  hideous  and  huge? 
Ugly  things  should  be  dwarfed  \  " 

"The  ancients,  who  knew  not  the  grandeur  of  moral 
])ower.  gave  their  deities  terribleness  in  their  physical 
proportions,  and  a  mountain  of  flesh  became  their  ideal 
of  greatness — men  ever  try  to  make  their  objects  of 
worship  greater  than  themselves,  thou  knowest.  Hast 
forgotten  what  Ichabod  once  told  us  of  the  Egyptians: 


2 1 6  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

How  they  expressed  their  reverence  by  piling  up  pyr 
amids  and  made  that  very  diminutive  which  they  would 
caricature  ?  Oh,  how  our  true  religion,  having  at  its 
heart  an  only,  all-beautiful,  Almighty  God,  rises  above 
these  human  devices.'  " 

"  I  wonder  that  it  did  not,  at  its  first  appearing  on 
earth,  instantly  overthrow  all  others." 

"  And  it  is  a  still  more  wonderful  thing  that  those 
who  embraced  it,  having  known,  should  have  sometimes 
gone  back  to  paganism?  Thou  dost  remember  that 
God's  chosen  people,  after  enjoying  marvels  of  His 
Providence,  plunged  headlong  into  idolatry  in  the  very 
presence  of  His  splendor  at  Sinai?" 

"  With  shame  I  remember  it.  I  marvel  as  well  that 
this  record,  which  evokes  the  ridicule  of  the  grosser 
heathen,  was  made  part  of  our  Holy  writings." 

"  God's  compensation  !  The  people  stripped  them 
selves  of  their  jewels  to  make  the  calf ;  then  of  their 
garments  to  worship  it  according  to  the  lewd  rites  of 
Apis.  God  since  has  lashed  them  naked  around  the 
world,  as  it  were,  by  giving  their  history  to  all  times. 
'  Be  sure  your  sin  will  find  you  out,'  is  a  stern  truth 
haunting  the  conscience  of  the  evil  doer;  but  though 
exposure  is  a  bitter  medicine  it  is  a  saving  one.  God 
as  such  applies  it." 

"  I  think  the  devil  crazed  the  people  at  Sinai." 

"Yes,  Rizpah,  but  Human  Desire  was  his  name. 
The  revelers  made  their  devil  as  well  as  their  calf, 
that  day." 

"  But  it  is  said  '  they  rose  to  play.'  If  so  disobedi 
ent  and  heaven-defying  how  could  they  have  found 
*ieart  to  play  ?  " 

"Odious,  significant  worH  that  one   is,  here.     It  was 


The  Revels  of  Men  and  Rites  of  tlicir  Goddesses.  217 

a  l play '  that  engulphed  all  purity.  No  wonder  they 
ceased  to  observe  the  '  burning  mountain  ! '  Only  the 
pure  in  heart  can  see  God." 

"  Thank  God  !  that  thy  people  and  mine  have  finally 
escaped,  my  husband." 

"  So  far  as  we  have  escaped,  I  thank  Him  ;  but,  alas, 
the  evangels  of  Egypt's  scarlet  heresies  still  go  about, 
and  there  are  many,  everywhere,  led  away  in  chains  that 
seem  of  flowers  at  first,  but  are  found  to  be  of  galling 
iron  at  last." 

"  T  did  not  know  this  ?  " 

"  Oh,  these  modern  perverters  disguise  their  horrible 
tenets  with  many  refined  phrases  ;  yet  He  that  over 
whelmed  gross  Sodom  and  the  jewelless,  naked  dancers 
about  the  golden  bull,  sees  through  all  their  thin  drap- 
ings  and  will  judge  the  free  lover,  corrupt  socialist  and 
libertine  as  He  did  those  ancients.  The  Assyrian  and 
Egyptian  representations  of  Venus  generally  appeared 
holding  a  serpent  ;  a  sort  of  bitter  admission  of  the 
curse  in  the  hand  of  perverted  love  and  the  fierce  lash 
ings  that  follow  it." 

"  I  fail  to  connect  the  ancient  with  the  present  here 
sies,  my  good  teacher." 

"  I  pause  to-day  here,  reminded  of  their  common 
origin  and  consequences.  God  put  it  into  the  hearts 
of  His  creatures  to  love  women,  honor  motherhood, 
and  worship  Him.  Read  Sinai's  law,  and  this  is  all 
manifest.  There  came  a  perversion  ;  the  love  of  woman 
was  degraded,  motherhood  was  denied  its  honor,  and 
men  became  God-defying.  There  was  a  confusion 
worse  than  that  of  Babel,  and  the  worshiping  was 
transferred,  first,  to  symbolized  lust  ;  then  degraded. 
They  that  adored  Venus,  knowing  how  her  adoration 


2 1 8  The  Queen  of  tlic  House  of  David. 

had  depraved  themselves,  came  to  believe  that  she  scan 
c'alized  the  heaven  they  imagined.  Then  came  a  time 
when  her  earthly  rites  even  scandalized  the  wiser 
pagans." 

"  My  husband  leads  me  along  strange  ways.  Is  it 
wise  to  do  so  ?  " 

"  I  see  a  grand  end  ;  follow  me.  There  is  a  deep 
significance  in  the  fact  that  among  the  pagans  there 
constantly  appeared  this  adoration  of  woman  on 
account  of  her  power  of  motherhood.  I  take  this 
adoration  as  proof  of  a  conscious  need  feeling  after  a 
vaguely  discerned  truth.  The  yearning  is  suggested  by 
the  paired  gods.  Assyria  had  its  Beltis,  consort  of 
Bel-nimrud  ;  and  there  were  Allelta  of  the  Arabians, 
the  many-breasted  Diana  of  the  Ephesians,  the  Aphro 
dite  of  the  Greeks,  Ceres  and  Venus  of  Rome,  this 
. Astarte  of  the  Giants;  beyond  all,  in  utter  odiousness 
Khem.the  Phallic  god  of  Egypt.  Amid  all  these  false 
ideals,  the  divine  home  with  its  pure  love  and  our  im 
mortality  by  grace's  mystery,  were  overslaughed  in  hu 
man  thought.  The  glaring  passions,  that  were  unwill 
ing  to  believe  in  other  immortality  than  that  that  comes 
through  posterity,  other  heaven  than  that  of  sensuous 
pleasure,  fascinated  and  dominated  hearts  and  souls." 

"And  worshiping  women-gods  did  this." 

"  Worshiping  beings  with  the  form  of  women  did 
it !  Reverence  for  true  womanhood  ever  exalts  and 
never  degrades.  But  these  ancients  adored  very  gor- 
gons  with  snakes  for  hair,  and  having  tearing,  brazen 
claws.  They  set  these  gorgons  with  the  Harpies,  in 
their  mythologies,  at  the  gates  of  dark  Pluto's  palace. 
Alas,  where  men  are  led  by  ill-flavored  women,  is  ever 
more  Pluto's  gateway." 


The  Rcirls  of  Men  and  Rites  of  their  Goddesses.  219 

"  The  up-digging  of  these  ancient  soils,  knight,  give 
forth  foul  odors.  Did  they  not  dread  a  just  and  jeal 
ous  God  ^ " 

"  No.  It  is  the  constant  voice  of  history  that  false 
belief  concerning  these  things  of  which  I  have  spoken, 
brings  both  blindness  and  degradation.  Unbelief  comes 
swiftly  in  the  wake  of  impurity.  The  gorgons  had  but 
one  eye  and  that  had  the  malign  power  of  turning  to 
stone  all  upon  whom  its  glance  fell.  When  men  deify 
a  fallen  woman  then  look  for  a  cataclysm  of  evils.  Riz- 
pah  has  seen  little  of  the  world,  but  this  in  time  she'll 
find  true  ;  the  man  whose  cult  or  faith  bends  toward 
the  libidinous  is  on  the  way  to  utteratheism.  So  these 
old-time  free-lovers,  like  those  of  to-day,  push  out 
of  the  universe  in  their  belief,  the  Great,  Beautiful. 
First  Cause.  The  pure  in  heart  see  God ;  the  impure 
can  not  even  pray  to  Him.  The  latter  must  be  aided 
by  an  Immaculate  One.  They  make  a  gulf  betwixt  their 
souls  and  heaven,  which  Great  Mercy  alone  can  bridge." 

"Ah,  knight,  I'd  dread  a  return  of  those  gross  idol 
atries,  knowing  mankind's  trend,  but  that  I  knew  that 
Shiloh  was  to  corne  as  a  Reformer."  The  knight 
caught  at  the  words  of  his  wife  to  lead  her  toward  his 
own  dear  belief. 

"  If  He  came  to  Rizpah  in  the  form  of  a  man,  unique 
because  of  his  virgin  purity,  unlike  any  other  in  being 
all  unselfish,  and  accompanied  by  a  peerless  woman, 
exemplifying  all  that  is  best  in  the  gentle  sex  ;  between 
Himself  and  that  woman  a  love  deep  to  love's  last  depth, 
pure  as  a  sunbeam,  enduring  as  eternity  itself,  would 
Rizpah  welcome  Him  !  " 

"That  would  be  a  wondrous  coming;  but  I'd  wel 
come  Him." 


22O  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  Docs  Rizpah  believe  such  an  appearing  desir. 
able  ?  " 

"Oh,  on  my  soul,  yes!  If  he  should  so  come,  me- 
thinks  the  rites  which  have  gone  on  in  the  secrecy  of 
the  groves,  under  the  uncertain  light  of  the  moon,  would 
be  driven  from  the  earth,  and  men  come  to  worship 
God,  taking  that  man  for  the  ideal  of  manhood,  that 
woman  as  woman's  pattern." 

"  Dost  thou  see  that  stone  with  eight  lines  crossing, 
lying  just  there  by  the  image  of  Astarte?" 

"  I  see  it  and  the  lines  ;  but  what  of  them  ?  " 

"  In  the  far  East,  the  land  of  the  Fire  Worshipers, 
on  almost  all  the  handiwork  of  man  that  symbol  is 
placed.  It  is  to  represent  an  eight-pointed  star,  the 
Assyrian  sign  of  immortality." 

"Eight  lines  crossing  to  represent  immortal  life? 
This  is  inane  !  " 

"Not  quite.  I  had  its  explanation  from  my  wander 
ing  Jew,  Ichabod,  learned  by  much  travel  in  the  lore 
of  many  peoples.  He  thus  interpreted  the  symbol 
as  the  Assyrians  understood  it ;  man,  a  four-pointed 
star;  his  four  radiate  limbs  suggesting  that  likeness. 
Thou  knowest  that  the  Israelites  have  been  wont  to  call 
men  stars?  The  Assyrians,  not  having  the  sure  word, 
were  led  to  seek  by  human  philosophy  a  theory  of 
immortality,  and  they  got  no  further  than  twice  four, 
two  human  beings  in  union  ;  so  eight  or  a  double 
star,  their  symbol  of  marriage,  represented  the  only 
immortality  they  were  able  to  find  ;  that  that  comes 
from  reproduction.  At  least  that  was  the  only  reality, 
the  rest  being  very  vaguely  believed,  and  believed  only 
because  they  thought  that  the  mystery  of  a  new  life 
coming  forth,  was  a  hint  of  a  spiritual  method  analo- 


The  Revels  oj  Men  and  Rites  of  their  Goddesses.  221 

gous  to  the  material.  They  then  fell  to  worshiping  the 
sun,  the  great  fructifier  and  light  of  nature  ;  fire,  the 
essence  of  passion,  became  their  highest  god.  It  is 
said  that  those  Magi  of  the  East,  that  arrived  long  ago 
at  Bethlehem,  were  fire  worshipers,  and  that  in  answer 
to  a  cry  for  light,  constantly  uttered  by  their  race,  they 
took  their  journey  to  Judah,  seeking  it." 

"  The  world  must  turn  to  Israel  ever  for  the  truth, 
Sir  Charleroy." 

"  For  some  truth  ;  not  all ;  but  there  is  a  tradition 
that  the  star  the  wise  men  followed  was  a  double  one, 
two  planets  in  conjunction.  There  is  a  fitness  in  the 
legend,  for  the  seekers  of  light  were  brought  to  the  cave 
where  lay  a  mother  and  babe  ;  the  latter  God's  finest 
presentment  of  immortality,  the  Incarnation  ;  the  fruit 
of  the  Divine  in  union  with  the  human.  I  stand  over 
come,  with  wonder  and  reverence  when  I  remember 
that  they  of  the  East  had  some  light  from  the  Jews 
they  held  captive  ages  before.  They  lost  most  of  what 
they  had,  then,  longing  for  its  return,  God  answered 
their  prayer  by  taking  them  to  the  finest  of  schools,  a 
blessed  home  circle.  Behold  all  the  East  looking  for 
light  at  Bethlehem  !  " 

Rizpah  evaded  her  husband's  graceful  attempt  to 
impress  on  her  Christian  tenets,  by  replying:  "  I  prefer 
the  Jewish  choice  number  Seven,  though  I  can  not  give 
it  fine  interpretations,  as  thou  to  the  Eight  of  the  East." 

<%  Rizpah  prefers  it  because  it  is  Jewish,  and  I  prefer 
Seven  because  I  read  therein  a  covenant ;  for  Seven  is 
the  sacred  covenant  number  of  God's  Word.  Let  me 
interpret:  There  is  a  Triune  God,  symbolized  by 
Three  ;  then  man,  the  child  of  chance,  the  being  tossed 
hither  and  thither  by  the  four  winds,  a  complex  union 


The  QHCCH  of  the  House  of  David. 

himself  of  body,  mind,  animal  life  and  immortal  spirit. 
Four  is  his  representative  number,  or  symbol.  The 
Assyrians  paired  fours;  the  Jews  vaguely  discerned  a 
grander  path  to  eternal  felicity  through  the  con 
junction  of  God  and  man,  the  Three  and  the  Four. 
From  this  they  derived  their  covenant  number. 
Seven." 

"  These  are  charming  explanations,  Sir  Charleroy  ; 
especially  so,  if  sure  ones  !  " 

"  But  the  truths  are  fairer  than  my  poor  words.  I 
read  that  at  creation  the  morning  stars — meaning  the 
beings  that  know  no  night,  the  very  sons  of  God — - 
shouted  for  joy !  They  saw  an  immortality  having  its 
springs  in  the  being  of  the  Eternal,  and  were  glad. 
Since  then  the  race  has  diverged  into  two  lines.  The 
gross  and  unbelieving,  seeking  to  effect  the  apotheosis 
of  human  lust,  have  gone  their  ways  reveling  under  the 
moonlight,  and  building  their  fanes  in  the  groves 
which  fade,  while  the  believing  and  God-taught  have 
walked  in  a  covenant  toward  Him,  'Who  only  hath  im 
mortality  dwelling  in  light.'  Rizpah,  some  day  that 
home  group  at  Bethlehem,  a  father,  mother,  and  child, 
surrounded  by  angels,  overshadowed  by  God,  will  come 
to  be  thought  the  finest  ideal  of  this  life.  Yea,  a  pic 
ture  of  Heaven  itself !  " 

The  knight's  wife  fixed  her  piercing,  dark  eyes  on  his  , 
there  were  expressed  in  her  countenance  admiration 
and  fearfulness.  She  was  charmed  by  his  lofty  senti 
ments,  yet  apprehensive  of  being  led  into  some  dan 
gerous,  Christian  heresy.  Fanaticism  always  has  a 
terror  of  heresy,  so-called,  even  though  it  seemed  to 
be  full  of  white  truth.  Presently  she  question"'' • 

"  So  Og,  great  as  a  mountain  of  ri—-uj   ...,u   Astarte, 


The  Revels  of  Men  and  Rites  of  their  Goddesses.  223 

goddess  of  the  pleasure  that  kills,  only,  of  all  Kunawat's 
.ancients,  have  left  enduring  names?  " 

"  One  other  name  endures,  the  ages  brightening  its 
luster — Job,  loyal  to  the  last,  in  spite  of  the  devil  and 
a  virago  wife." 

"  Poor  woman  !  say  I  of  Job's  wife.  None  have  told 
her  side  of  her  family  troubles.  May  be  Job  haunted 
the  grove  of  the  moon-crowned  ?  " 

"Maybe?  Never!  His  splendid  orations  bespoke 
a  man  walking  nigh  Jehovah.  Listen  :  '  If  I  beheld  the 
moon  walking  in  brightness,  if  my  heart  hath  been 
secretly  enticed,  or  my  mouth  kissed  my  hand,  let 
thistles  grow  instead  of  wheat.'  He  said  this  amid 
the  votaries  of  the  Lust-Queen." 

"  And  Job  may  be  praised,  not  only  as  proof  that 
there  has  been  one  patient  man  on  earth,  but  as  proof 
that  a  good  man  will  stand. pure  to  the  last,  though  the 
world  about  acclaim  the  praise  of  delightful  sins  ?  " 

"  He  stood  because  entranced  by  his  beautiful  ideal. 
He  loved  Him  whose  name  is  Holiness." 

"  Heaven  comes  at  last  to  such." 

"Job  was  God's  best  friend  on  earth  in  his  day,  and 
his  Heavenly  Father  gave  him  as  his  reward  His  best 
earthly  gift — a  new,  pure,  happy,  fruitful  home." 

"  Are  we  through  now  with  the  fascinating  image, 
knight  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Rizpah,  if  we  take  to  heart  its  warnings.  May 
we  preserve  our  integrity,  and  have  a  home  as  our  re 
ward  finer  than  that  of  the  Man  of  Uz;  yea,  verily,  as 
fine  in  its  tempers  and  virtues  as  that  of  Bethlehem." 

So  saying,  the  knight  led  Rizpah  toward  their  abode. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

\  BATTLE  OF  GIANTS  AT  BOZRAH 

•'  Sleep — the  ghostly  winds  are  blowing  ! 
No  moon  abroad — no  star  is  glowing. 
The  river  is  deep  and  the  tide  is  flowing 
To  the  land  where  you  and  I  are  going  ! 

We  are  going  afar, 

Beyond  moon  or  star, 
To  the  land  where  the  sinless  angels  are  ! 

I  lost  my  heart  to  your  heartless  sire 
( 'Twas  melted  away  by  his  looks  of  fire), 
Forgot  my  God,  and  my  father's  ire, 
All  for  the  sake  of  a  man's  desire  ; 

But  now  we'll  go 

Where  the  waters  flow, 
And  make  our  bed  where  none  shall  know." 
— "  The  Mothers  Last  Song.'1'1 — BARRY  CORNWAL*, 

"  How   shall   we    order  the   child,    and   how   shali  we  do."- 
judges  xiii.    12. 

IR  CHARLEROY  and  his  consort  took  up 
their  abode  in  one  of  the  many  deserted 
ancient  stone  houses  of  the  city  of  Bozrah. 
The  latter,  situated  in  one  of  the  most 
fertile  plains  of  earth,  once  having  upward  of  one 
hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  several  times  having 
risen  to  metropolitan  splendor,  ages  ago  sank  into 
neglect,  decay  and  desolation.  But  with  wonderful 
persistence  that  city  preserves  the  records,  or  relics,  of 


A  Battle  of  Giants  at  Bozrah.  225 

what  it  was  in  better,  greater  days.  The  antiquarian 
to-day  finds  in  and  around  Bozrah  the  dwellings, 
palaces  and  temples  of  many  and  various  peoples, 
some  piled  in  strata-like  courses,  one  above  the  other, 
<:ach  layer  the  tombstone  of  its  predecessor;  some 
is  fine  as  they  were  forty  centuries  ago.  The 
innalist  there  has  at  hand  as  an  open  book  the 
achievements  of  some  of  the  mightiest  men  of  earth, 
physically.  The  latter  were  contemporary  with  that 
line  of  God's  moral  giants,  of  which  Abraham,  Moses 
and  David  were  representative  leaders  first,  and  Christ 
finally.  The  strata  of  Bozrah  tell  of  differing  policies, 
politics,  religions;  all  alike  in  one  thing — the  attempt 
to  build  upon  the  buttresses  of  giant  force  ;  but  they 
present  in  the  end  the  one  result — failure;  all  being 
equally  dead  at  the  last,  if  not  equally  herculean  at 
the  first.  Sheer  robustness  in  the  armies  of  Rome, 
the  Turk,  Alexander,  and  Og  wrought  out  their  best 
about  the  Bashan  cities,  and  in  that  theater  played 
the  eternally  losing  game  of  all  such.  It  seems  as  if 
God  had  chosen  that  part  of  all  the  world  to  illustrate 
this  great  lesson  of  His  providence.  The  Roman, 
Mohammedan,  Greek,  and  others  like  them,  there  had 
their  brutal  and  sensuous  existence.  There  the  Cru 
sader  carried  also  his  banners;  but  the  end  of  the 
Rephaim  was  the  forerunner  and  prophecy  of  all  the 
other  giantesque  gatherings  that  followed  after  them. 
E.ach  passing  race  and  dynasty  left  its  monuments 
and  tokens  of  possession ;  but  of  all,  those  of  the 
first,  the  giants,  are  the  most  enduring,  most  wonder- 
ful.  These  dateless,  huge,  rugged,  fort-like  dwellings, 
standing  just  as  they  did  four  thousand  years  ago,  ex 
cept  that  they  are  mostly  unoccupied,  are  impressivp 


226  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

monuments  and  reminders  of  the  mighty  denizens 
who  once  abode  within  them.  There  are  ruins  of 
temples,  palaces,  houses  of  commerce  and  places  of 
amusement,  but  chiefly  of  homes;  the  latter,  sig- 
riificantly,  instructively,  being  the  best  preserved  of 
all.  Sir  Charleroy  observed  this  circumstance,  and 
casually  remarked  to  Rizpah,  as  they  bestowed  their 
effects  in  one  of  the  ancient  domiciles: 

"  If  ever  I  take  to  building,  I'll  build  abiding  places 
for  people,  only.  Such  are  the  most  lasting." 

But  while  he  came  thus  near  to  a  royal  truth,  he  did 
not  make  it  his  own.  It  passed  through  his  mind  and 
he  felt  its  light,  as  one  might  that  from  the  wing  of  a 
ministering  spirit,  while  his  eyes  were  holden  and  his 
back  turned.  He  immediately  left  the  angelic  thought, 
to  go  wandering  through  years  of  misery,  before  com 
ing  back  face  to  face  with  it  again.  Sir  Charleroy  and 
Rizpah,  a  western  soldier  and  a  woman  of  Israel,  two 
giants  in  their  way,  began  a  new  career  at  Bozrah.  It 
was  providential.  Measuring  power  by  the  only  avail 
able  test  at  hand,  namely,  what  it  accomplishes,  it  was 
manifest  long  ago  to  all  that  the  brawn  of  the  Cyclops 
was  not  the  master  force  of  the  word.  Hercules 
cleansed  the  earth  of  mythical,  not  real  evils.  Sir 
Charleroy  and  Rizpah  are  fittingly  brought  to  the  thea 
ter  of  the  giants  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  potency 
of  giantesque  sentimentality  and  stubborn,  mighty 
ardor.  To  this  end,  two  will  do  as  well  as  a  nation, 
and  a  decade  will  be  as  conclusive  as  a  score  of  gene 
rations.  The  husband  and  wife  entered  Bozrah  gladly, 
and  quickly  adapted  themselves  to  their  new  surround 
ings.  They  were  both  very  impressible,  and  there 
were  many  things  in  their  new  environments  that  im° 


A  Battle  cf  Giants  at  Bozrah.     .  22-j 

pressed  and  stimulated  them.  Nature's  face  and  loca 
tions  may  be  changed  by  man,  but  he  can  not  change 
her  heart.  She,  on  the  other  hand,  is  invincible  in  her 
conquests  of  both  his  face  and  inner  being.  Climate 
and  environments  determine  the  characters  and  careers 
of  the  majorities.  The  sleets  of  the  North,  in  time, 
will  goad  the  sensuous  Turk  or  Hottentot  to  high 
activity,  while  the  Cossack  or  Esquimaux,  under  tropi 
cal  suns  soon  fall  into  luxuriousness  and  laziness.  Boz- 
rah  began  its  molding  of  the  knight  and  his  wife. 
Rizpah  and  Sir  Charleroy  were  at  first  attracted  to 
Giant  Land  by  the  hugeness  of  its  monuments  and 
ghostly  greatness  of  its  record.  They  received  at  Boz- 
rah  their  first  impulse  to  settle  and  make  a  home. 
Probably  they  were  largely  influenced  by  the  con 
viction  tiiat,  in  its  way,  there  was  nothing  more 
entrancing  or  majestic  beyond.  For  the  best  results, 
to  them,  the  second  selection  was  altogether  unfortu 
nate.  They  had  made  their  home  in  the  midst  of 
battle-fields,  and  the  atmosphere  that  hung  over  all 
things  was  like  that  over  a  defeated  army,  sullenly  sub 
mitting.  The  new  coiners  from  the  beginning,  in  their 
new  home,  were  immersed  in  ghostly  memories,  and 
that  atmosphere  so  like  the  breath  of  a  bound  yet 
struggling  giant.  They  were  affected  more  than  they 
realized  by  all  these  things. 

"  No  more  tours,  no  more  worlds,  for  us  to  conquer !  " 
exclaimed  the  knight. 

Rizpah,  her  cheerfulness  of  mind  largely  recovered, 
replied  to  this  remark  of  Sir  Charleroy  with  a  ban 
tering  laugh,  at  the  same  time  pointing  upward. 
Quickly,  and  with  retort  cruel  as  a  giant's  javelin,  he 
cried : 


228  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  Aias,  so  soon  Rizpah  seeks  my  final  departure 
from  her!  " 

The  cavalier  was  no  more  ;  it  was  the  brusque  and 
gross  within  him  that  spoke.  Had  he  been  courtly,  even 
without  being  Christian,  he  would  have  been  consider 
ate  enough  not  to  have  cruelly  jested  concerning  that 
which  lay  in  his  wife's  heart  as  a  possible  and  sad  fact. 
Often  the  thought  of  eternal  separation  from  her  hus 
band,  even  from  eternal  hope,  haunted  her  now. 
Her  husband  knew  this. 

For  a  moment  his  answer  seemed  to  stun  her;  then 
the  affectations  of  pouting  on  her  mobile  face,  coming 
when  she  pointed  upward,  changed  into  lines  of  anger. 
A  hot  flush  mounting  up  to  the  roots  of  her  hair,  hung 
out  the  warning  signal. 

The  knight,  pretending  not  to  observe  the  change, 
twined  his  arms  about  his  wife  and  mockingly  sighed  : 

"  Poor  girl !  I  can  find  no  wings  on  thee.  I  once 
thought  thou  hadst  such.  They  must  have  dropped 
off." 

There  was  no  reply.  He  then  began  to  retreat,  to 
placate,  and  to  that  intent  drew  her  closer  and  closer 
to  his  heart,  until,  embracing  her,  his  hands  clasped  ; 
but,  for  the  first  time  since  the  event  near  Gcrash, 
when  the  Arabs  were  vanquished,  his  caress  was  with 
out  response.  He  tried  a  thrust  thus: 

"  Well,  beloved,  since  thou  dost  banish  me,  bestow 
a  kiss  of  long  farewell." 

Quickly,  Rizpah  flung  aside  his  embracing  arms  and 
cried:  "  Shechemite !  I'm  no  Dinah,  won  by  false 
professions!  " 

"  Shcchcm  was  more  honorable  than  all  the  house  of  hi 
^'  quoted  the  knight  in  reply. 


A  baffle  of  Giants  at  Bosrah.  229 

"  He  loved  himself,  his  passions  ;  to  these  gods  he 
gave  up  with  all  devotion,  and  they  immolated  him. 
That  was  good  !  " 

"  Why,  Rizpah,  thou  art  pettish." 

"  '  Rizpah  ! '  Thou  art  adroit  in  using  bitter  similes  ;  a 
brutalizing  power,  when  brutally  used  !  Now,  call  me 
'Jarnsaxa.'  Thou  toldst  me,  yesterday,  how  that 
mighty  male  god  of  the  Norse,  Thor,  while  hating  her 
people,  to  the  death,  stole  Jarnsaxa.  Yea,  and  how 
many  giants  fell  for  women.  Perhaps  thou  didst  want 
me  to  pity  thee.  We  are  in  Giant  Land  now,  and  thou 
canst  begin  to  play  Colossus  !" 

The  knight  was  startled,  and  quickly  entreated : 
"My  queen,  lets  drop  the  masks;  no  more  of  this; 
forget  my  sarcasm,  and  I'll  forgive  the  recriminations. 
A  truce  and  pardon,  in  the  name  of  love.  What  says 
Esther?" 

"'Esther?'  Thou  calledst  me  that  when  cavalier, 
turning  lover.  Thou  art  neither  now!"  The  sen 
tence  ended  in  a  petulant  sob. 

"  Oh,  stay  now.  It  was  playfulness.  I — there,  now  ! 
Canst  thou  not  brook  a  little  playfulness  from  me?" 

'•Playfulness?     Bah!     Ye   men   play   so  like   lions, 
forgetting    to    keep    the    claws    cushioned !    But,  no\v 
thou   hadst  better  be  going,  saint — the  only  one  hen 
Go,  now,  right  along  to  heaven.    They  want  thee  there 
They  want    thee,   not    me."     Then    she    choked  back 
another  sob,  but  instantly  thereafter,  dashing  the  rising 
:ear  from  her  eyes,  she   bitter-ly  exclaimed  :  "At  any 
rate,  thou'lt  have  company  !  " 

"Whom,  pray?" 

•'  The  begetter  and  chief  of  all  restless  vagabonds  !  " 

''So;  I  never  heard  of  him.  Has  he  a  name,  my  dear?" 


230  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David, 

The  knight  was  sarcastic,  because  he  was  nettled. 

Rizpah's  eyes  glittered  with  the  fire  of  offended 
pride,  and  she  quickly  began  in  measured  tone,  as  if  in 
soliloquy,  and  alone,  to  quote  Job's  record  of  satan's 
joining  the  assembly  of  the  sons  of  God  : 

"  There  was  a  day  when  the  sons  of  God  came  to  pre 
sent  themselves  before  the  Lord,  and  sat  an  came  also. 
And  the  Lord  said  whence  earnest  tJiou  ?  Then  sat  an 
said  from  going  to  and  fro  in  the  earth  and  from  walk 
ing  up  and  down  in  it." 

"  My  wife  responds  to  my  penitence  with  bitterness  ; 
but  even  the  pagans  were  wiser.  They  ever  took  the 
gall  from  the  animals  offered  to  Juno,  goddess  of  wed 
lock." 

"  Thy  wife  promised  to  be  thy  helpmate  and  give 
thee  all  she  had.  Now,  just  forget  thy  fine  paganism, 
being  a  Christian  long  enough  to  remember  that  I'm 
thy  helpmate  in  all  things,  even  in  bitterness.  I  give 
thee  all,  even  returning  thy  giving." 

"Thou  shouldst  not  make  so  much  of  my  little  mis 
step." 

"  Nothing  is  little  with  which  one  must  constantly 
live.  Great  breaks  grow  from  little  fractures.  One 
may  stand  a  blow,  but  its  the  constant  fretting  that 
roughs  the  heart-strings  to  woe  unendurable.  Thou 
hast  a  habit  of  playfully  hurting." 

"  Well,  this  has  been  a  day  at  school ;  there  ought  to 
be  a  school  for  husbands  !  We  do  not  half  understand 
the  fine,  sensitive  creatures  that  companion  us." 

"  Oh,  thou  thoughtst  thou  wcrt  a  woman-reader!" 

"  Were  I  to  see  an  angel  with  a  body  like  a  harp, 
eyes  like  the  unsearchable  ocean,  heart  of  flame,  arms 
like  flowering  vines,  covered  with  prismatic  wings,  I'd 


A  Battle  of  Giants  at  Bozrali.  231 

be  no  more  puzzled  and  abashed  than  I  ?.m  now  by 
my  high-strung,  fine-tempered  Rizpah." 

"Puzzled!  abashed!  I'd  help  thee  pity  thy  wounded 
conceit,  but  that  I  know  that  thou  art  soon  to  ascend. 
Art  thou  going  now  !  " 

"  I'am  afraid  not,  since  I've  so  many  more  sins  than 
graces.  When  elephants  soar  with  butterfly  wings, 
thou  mayst  look  for  my  departure.  Till  then  I'll  stay 
here  and  practice  the  patience  of  Job,  beset  with  his 
rambling  devil." 

"  How  elegantly  the  cavalier  uses  simile  in  coining 
epithets." 

"Heavens!  Rizpah,  thou  dost  twist  my  meanings  ! 
Why  distort,  instead  of  pardoning  my  blunders,  making 
both  of  us  miserable  !  " 

"  Oh,  then,  thou  hast  grace  enough  not  to  liken  me 
to  thy  besetting,  evil  spirit,  at  least  in  words?  " 

"  No,  no,  'tis  refined  cruelty  to  put  me  on  the  de 
fense  as  to  that.  Believe  it  or  not,  Rizpah  of  Gerash 
and  Rizpah  of  Bozrah  are  the  same.  My  heart  to  its 
core  says  so  !  " 

This  second  quarrel,  that  should  not  have  been  be 
gun,  had  the  merit  of  ending,  as  it  should,  in  reconcili 
ation,  tears,  embraces  and  a  great  many  excellent 
pledges.  Yet  Sir  Charleroy  did  not  greatly  profit  by 
the  experience.  He  failed  to  perceive  that  these  first 
breaks  in  the  rythmic  flow  of  conjugal  love  are  great 
shocks  to  a  deeply  affectionate  woman.  He  knew  that 
men  easily  recover  from  rebuffs,  and  so  did  not  stop  to 
consider  that  young  wife-hood  was  the  highest  expres 
sion  on  earth  of  utter  clinging  to  one  sole  support. 
He  knew  his  own  feelings  ;md  took  them  for  the  stand 
ard.  He  set  himself  up  as  the  pattern,  quite  uncon- 


232  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

sciously,  perhaps: ;  and  after  the  conflict  in  which  he 
came  off  conceded  victor,  he  was  condescending  in  his 
manner.  This  was  unfortunate.  Rizpah  did  not  need 
to  be  told  that  her  husband  was  wiser  and  stronger 
willed  and  more  self-possessed  and  more  able  to  endure 
life's  trial  than  herself.  All  this  she  believed,  abso 
lutely,  when  she  surrendered  her  heart  to  the  man  at 
the  first.  Woman-like,  these  were  the  very  circum 
stances  that  caused  her  to  love  him  as  she  did.  A 
woman  never  loves  completely  until  her  love  is  supple 
mented  by  adoration.  She  must  believe  the  man,  who 
would  make  full  conquest,  is  one  to  whom  she  can 
look  up ;  one  some  way  her  superior.  But  while  a 
loving  woman  will  give  a  devotion  almost  religious,  she 
•vill  be  pained  amid  her  delights  of  committal  by  a 
haunting  fear  that  he  whom  she  adores  may  rise  away 
from  her.  In  the  very  plenitude  of  her  fullest  love- 
worship  she  will  deny  the  reverence,  sometimes,  in  a 
seeming  inconsistency,  rebuff  and  even  ridicule  her 
idol.  It  is  with  her  a  sort  of  hysteria,  a  confession  of 
secret  terror,  lest  she  and  he  grow  apart  in  mind,  and 
so  come  to  part  in  body.  Hence  it  is  a  giant  cruelty 
on  the  part  of  a  husband,  sometimes,  to  enforce,  or 
thrust  forward,  his  size  or  his  lordship.  They  may  be 
facts,  but  God  has  set  over  against  them  as  their  equal 
that  love  which  clings,  stimulates  and  supplements, 
without  which  the  finest  man  is  far  less  than  the  half 
of  the  united  twain.  Sir  Charleroy  blundered  along 
in  his  error ;  Rizpah  tried  to  be  happy  and  failed. 
She  did  not  know  how  to  make  the  best  of  her  sur 
roundings,  and  Sir  Charleroy  did  not  know,  because  he 
did  not  seek  religiously  to  find  out  how  to  help  her 
make  the  best  of  them.  They  had  some  periods  of 


A  Battle  of  Giants  at  Bozrah.  233 

pleasure,  but  they  continually  grew  briefer  and  were 
more  frequently  interrupted  as  time  went  on.  She  was 
ill,  he  suffered  himself  to  think  her  at  times  ill-tem 
pered.  As  a  lover,  he  admired  her  outbreaks  as  very 
brilliant,  and  flattered  her  by  remarking  that  she  had 
the  metal  of  an  Arabian  steed  ;  as  a  husband,  he  thought 
her  very  disagreeable  when  pettish  or  angry.  Indeed, 
though  he  never  said  so  to  her,  he  did  say  to  himself  that 
at  times  she  was  very  like  a  virago.  The  only  steed 
that  came  to  his  mind  then  was  the  ass,  to  which  he 
likened  himself  when  he  considered  himself  the  perfec 
tion  of  submissive  patience. 

A  new  event  radically  changed  the  picture  and  situ 
ation  in  this  troubled  home. 

The  prayer  of  prayers  was  heard  in  Bozrah  ;  the  cry 
of  a  baby  ;  a  bundle  of  needs  and  helplessness,  with  no 
language  but  a  cry.  Processions  of  silent  centuries  had 
passed  through  those  halls  since  they  echoed  the  hoarse 
voices  of  the  brawny  beings  who  built  them.  One 
could  not  hear  the  infant  cry  without  remembering  the 
contrasts.  A  baby ;  a  puny  one  at  that,  and  of  the 
gentler  sex,  besides  being  of  a  race  pigmy  compared  to 
the  stalwarts  who  builded  those  abodes.  Sir  Charleroy 
and  his  consort  had  set  up  their  household  gods,  and  for 
a  goodly  period  had  occupied  as  theirs  a  Rephaim 
home. 

The  little  stranger  came,  though  they  did  not  discern 
it,  with  power  to  bless  them  both.  A  poetic  visitor, 
happening  on  this  baby's  hammock  there  and  then, 
might  have  gone  in  raptures,  to  some  truths,  after  this 
fashion  :  "  It  will  be  the  golden  tie,  angel  of  peace  and 
hope,  to  the  home!"  The  philosopher,  seeing  the 
little  bundle  of  helplessness,  might  have  said-  "Here 


234  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

is  a  giant,  the  home  is  immortal  through  its  offspring, 
the  babe  requiring  so  much,  richly  repays  its  loving 
care-takers  by  inducting  them  into  the  soul  expansions 
of  unselfish  service."  But  then  poets  and  philosophers 
often  miss  the  mark,  attempting  prophesy. 

The  parents  followed  the  usual  course  of  those  for 
the  first  time  in  that  relation.  Their  love  for  each 
other,  very  intense,  and  by  its  sensitiveness  witnessing 
after  all  that  it  was  very  selfish,  got  a  new  direction. 
They  soon  drifted  into  the  charming  fooleries  of  their 
like.  Sometimes  they  petted  the  child  unceasingly, 
and  one  was  anon  jealous  of  the  other  if  surpassed  in 
this.  They  each  struggled  for  a  recognition  from  the 
innocent,  and  debated  as  to  whether  the  first  babble  of 
the  little  one  was  "mamma"  or  "papa."  Then  there 
were  times  when  they  handled  baby  very  rever 
ently,  as  if  it  were  something  from  God,  or  likely  to 
break. 

At  such  times  they  each,  in  heart,  thanked  God  and 
gave  the  child,  at  least  in  part,  to  Him.  Sometimes 
they  called  it  "  Davidah "  or  "darling,"  and  laughed 
?.s  they  assured  each  other,  to  assure  themselves,  that 
the  baby  looked  wise  as  if  understanding.  Sometimes 
they  played  with  it  as  if  they  were  children  and  it  a 
toy ;  sometimes  they  ministered  to  it  with  anxious 
care,  while  all  the  time  they  felt  quite  sure  it  was  some 
how  of  finer  mold  and  fiber  than  any  babe  before  on 
earth.  They  were  just  like  all  for  the  first  time  par 
ents,  and  their  raptures  were  now  for  good,  being  cen 
tered  around  the  thought  expressed  by  the  sweet  word 
home.  Of  course,  the  question  of  naming  the  child 
was  discussed,  and,  of  course,  no  name  they  could  think 
of  seemed  quite  good  enough.  Some  days  the  child 


A  Battle  of  Giants  at  Boz;  ah       .  235 

was  given  a  dozen,  and  some  days  it  had  none ;  for  all 
the  time  they  kept  trying  to  fit  it. 

In  one  thing,  both  parents  were  Jewish,  namely,  the 
desire  to  give  their  darling  an  appellation  expressive 
of  what  it  was  or  what  they  hoped  it  wrould  be.  They 
first  agreed  on  "  Angela,"  but  that  was  discarded  as 
being  a  sort  of  advertisement  of  the  quality  of  their 
treasure.  In  the  constant  selfishness  of  love  they 
would  keep  it  all  secretly,  sacredly  to  themselves,  they 
said.  They  sought  for  many  days  some  significant 
token  or  name  that  should  be  fully  expressive  of  their 
thought,  and  yet  by  the  three  only  be  ever  fully  under 
stood.  One  day  Rizpah,  always  abrupt,  still  nursing  an 
old  superstition,  said  :  "  Call  her  Marah,  a  mournful, 
sweet,  expressive  title." 

"  Why,  wife,  that  means  '  bitterness.'  " 

"  Bitterness,  since  I  believe  that  somewhere,  some 
how,  there  is  bitterness  enough  in  store  for  her — and 
me  with  her  " 

"  I'd  prefer  '  Mary,'  my  wife;  surely  this  little  angel 
is  to  be  all  like  that  blessed  one." 

Then  there  was  more  strife,  but  of  a  rather  patient 
kind,  which  ended  in  a  compromise,  they  calling  the 
child  Miriamne,  each  in  mind  meaning  different  from 
che  other  ;  the  one  Marah,  the  other  Mary.  But  on 
the  heels  of  this  came  soon  the  graver  problem,  How 
should  the  babe  be  reared,  in  Jewish  faith  or  Christian  ? 
It  was  the  old,  old  story  of  a  difficulty  seemingly  easily 
adjusted  to  ail,  except  to  those  who  have  actually  met 
it,  and  in  this  case,  as  usual,  the  two  parties  fanatically 
opposed  each  other.  In  the  name  of  sweet  religion 
they  loyally  served  the  devil  fora  time.  The  highest 
achievement  of  a  creed  or  faith  is  the  soothing  and 


2 $6  Tkd  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

elevation  of  a  home  here,  or  the  exalting  of  it  hea<ren 
ward  for  hereafter.  That  is  a  travesty  of  piety  which 
wrecks  the  substance  of  joy  for  the  shell  of  a  dogma 
This  stricture  is  easily  written  and  may  pass  without 
dissent,  the  reader  immediately  falling  into  the  error 
denounced.  Of  course,  as  usual,  these  two  parents 
began  the  discussion  of  the  subject.  At  intervals  they 
cautiously  pressed  their  arguments,  but  each  unwaver 
ingly  moved  toward  his  or  her  point.  They  were  like 
advancing  armies,  firing  occasional  shots,  but  surely 
approaching  a  mighty  issue.  They  pretended  to  argue 
the  matter  by  times,  but  it  was  a  farce,  for  each  in 
mind  irrevocably  had  predetermined  the  conclusion. 
Time  sped  on  a  year  or  more,  then  the  conflict  fully 
came. 

"  Rizpah,  we  were  wed  by  a  Christian,  let  us  take 
the  fruit  of  that  compact  to  Christian  baptism." 

"The  first  act  was  an  error;  we  shall  not  atone  for 
it  by  repetitions  in  kind  !  The  child  i?  mine  ;  I  de 
cline." 

"  And  mine,  so  I  request." 

"A  mother  imperils  her  whole  life  for  her  child,  and 
unreservedly  gives  to  it  part  of  herself ;  justice,  hu 
manity,  should  give  the  child  to  the  mother,  so  far  as 
may  be." 

"  But  even  und^r  thy  faith,  I,  the  father,  am  the 
head  of  the  house." 

"  Under  my  faith  the  nurture  and  training  of  chil 
dren  belong  chiefly  to  the  mother,  and  my  faith  has 
been  the  finest  society-builder  of  the  world  in  the  past. 
Thou  hast  often  recounted  to  me  the  deeds  of  that 
golden,  heroic  time  of  my  people,  when  the  great  Mac- 
cabean  family  led  us  and  inspired  us.  Well,  then,  the 


A  Battle  of  Giants  at  Bozrah.  237 

mothers  had  exclusive  control  of  the  daughters  until 
they  were  wed,  and  so  they  had  grand  daughters  among 
the  Maccabees." 

"  Well,  we  differ  in  belief ;  we  had  better  compro 
mise." 

"We  dare  not  barter  a  little  soul  to  do  it." 

"  Well,  briefly  then,  being  lord  of  this  home,  I  com 
mand  that  the  grace-giving  sacrament  be  sought  for 
our  Mary." 

"  My  faith,  to  which  thou  didst  first  appeal,  forbids 
fathers  to  command  their  children  to  walk  through 
idolatrous  fires.  Marah  shall  not." 

"  Hush  ;  I  only  want  the  loved  one  inducted  into 
the  true  faith." 

"  Mine  is  the  older  and  truer." 

"  With  thee  argument  is  futile  ;  I  insist  - 

"If  the  father  is  a  foreigner,  Jewry's  rule  is  that  the 
children  are  to  be  called  by  the  mother's  name  and 
regarded  as  of  her  family.  Make  such  law  as  thou 
choosest  for  thy  family  but  not  for  mine." 

"  I'll  end  this,"  cried  Sir  Charleroy,  seizing  the  child, 
as  if  to  hasten  then  to  seek  some  priest's  ministry. 

Rizpah's  eyes  glittered  with  sullen  purpose.  She 
sprang  before  him,  and  hissed  : 

"Our  fathers  escaped  at  all  cost  from  Egypt.  I'll 
not  go  back,  nor  Marah." 

The  knight  was  surprised,  and  his  looks  expressed  it 
as  he  said  : 

"  Dost  thou  rave  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  I  was  just  remembering  that  a  bearded 
serpent  was  the  Egyptian  symbol  of  deity  ;  something 
like  a  man.  You  Christians  would  have  all  husbands 
gods  to  their  families  !  No  bearded  serpent  for  mine  !  " 


23  3  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  Heavens,  woman  !  thinkest  thou  thy  scorn  and  vi 
tuperation  can  stay  me?"  So  saying  he  pushed,  or 
rather  half  flung  the  woman  from  him.  He  had  no 
conception  of  the  rage  that  any  thing  like  a  blow 
evokes  in  the  heart  of  a  woman  that  could  love  as  once 
did  Rizpah.  On  his  part  it  was  intended  as  a  master 
piece  of  strategy,  in  the  hope  that  the  woman  would 
swoon,  then  surrender  in  the  weakness  of  following 
hysteria.  The  act  was  hateful  to  him,  but  he  justified 
it  by  the  end  sought,  yet  missed  that  end. 

Rizpah  was  a  tigress  roused,  and  like  many  another 
mother,  beast  or  human,  when  the  fight  is  once  for 
offspring  was  endowed  with  sudden,  supernatural 
strength.  She  sprang  toward  the  hammock,  plucking 
her  dagger  meanwhile  from  its  hiding-place. 

"  Heaven  defend  us,  woman  !  "  cried  Sir  Charleroy, 
glancing  about  for  a  means  of  prevention,  "  thcu 
wouldst  not  do  murder  f  " 

"  Oh,  no,  thou  art  not  fit  to  die  ;  but  hear  me  ;  this 
blade,  consecrated  to  defense  from  dishonor,  saved  me 
once.  Dost  thou  remember?  It  will  do  it  again,  if 
need  be.  The  giver  sleeps,  but  his  stern  charge  haunts 
me  still.  '  Protect  at  any  cost  from  dishonor  !  ' 

"  Wouldst  thou  shed  blood  of  any  here  !  " 

"  Sir  Charleroy  saw  me  slay  the  Turk.  Had  I  failed, 
thou  falling,  this  blade  would  have  found  my  own 
heart.  Push  me  onward  by  thy  imperiousness  and  I 
will  slay  the  babe  and  then  myself !  Methinks,  it 
would  be  an  atonement  for  which  my  parent  would  for 
give  my  breaking  of  his  heart.  Ah,  then  sweet  rest  ; 
life's  tumults  over!  God  would  pity  the  tempest- 
tossed  soul  that,  through  such  bitterness,  flung  itself 
on  Him." 


A  Battle  of  Giants  at  Bozrah.  239 

'Dost  mean  all  this,  Rizpah  ?  " 

"Can  I  trifle?  Ask  thyself.  Have  I  ever?  My 
desperate  sincerity  made  me  thy  wife,  but  now  it  im 
pels  me  to  defy  all  thy  attempts  to  make  me  thy  min 
ion,  unthinking  echo  or  slave ;  or  worse,  the  ruiner  of 
that  girl." 

"  Well,  then,  woman,  since  thou  or  I  must  yield  and 
I  can  not,  thou  wilt  not,  I  execute  my  before  announced 
purpose  to  have  my  lawful  authority  acknowledged 
with  thee  or — 

"  Say  the  rest,  find  peace  away  from  me — 

"  Which  ?  "  sternly  demanded  the  knight. 

"  As  thou  dost  wish,  only  I'll  not  give  up  my  child 
to  Christian  sacrifice." 

"Then  we  can  not  live  in  peace  together." 

"  To  which  I  reply,  that  God  never  ordained  mar 
riage  to  bind  people  to  the  home  when  they  can  only 
for  each  other  in  that  home  make  a  very  Tartarus  !  " 

The  knight  was  humiliated.  He  had  believed  that 
the  woman's  heart  could  not  bear  the  thought  of  sepa 
ration,  and  now  to  find  her  willing  to  give  him  up, 
rather  than  her  will,  her  faith,  hurt  his  pride.  But 
they  had  made  an  utter  crossing  of  purposes.  He  ran 
out  of  their  stone  house,  his  heart  as  stony.  A  little 
way  off  he  paused,  looked  back,  and  said,  "  For  the  last 
time,  Rizpah,  what  dost  thou  say?" 

"  Go  ;  once  for  love  I  gave  up  all.  Again  I  do  it  ;  } 
give  thee  up  for  the  highest  of  all  love,  the  love  of  a 
mother  for  her  child  ! ' 

Caressingly  Rizpah  embraced  the  infant,  and  then 
fell  on  her  knees  with  her  face  averted  from  her  huc- 
band.  He  took  one  glance,  and  realizing  the  defeat  of 
his  strong  will  by  that  kneeling  woman,  angrily  hurried 


240  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

away.     The  die  was  cast.     He  turned  his  back  on  Riz 
pah,  swearing  that  he  would  never  more  return. 

For  a  few  days  Rizpah  lived  in  a  crazy  dream  ;  now 
laughing  as  she  thought  of  her  victory  ;  again  letting 
her  maiden  love  re-assert  itself ;  then  assuring  her  heart 
that  all  was  over  and  well  as  it  was.  But  a  woman  who 
imagines  that  reproach  or  even  open  violence  can  ut 
terly  extirpate  love  that  once  completely  possessed  her, 
knows  not  her  own  heart.  Especially  is  this  true  if  to 
that  heart,  she  at  times,  press,  lovingly,  a  child  begot 
ten  in  that  love,  and  the  form  bearing  the  impress  of 
that  man  for  whom  sometime  she  would  have  willingly 
died. 


One  flight  libe  baby  cried  piteously,  being  ill,  and 
Rizpah  was  fueling  very  lonely  because  so  anxious  for 
it.  She  had  sometimes,  since  Sir  Charleroy's  departure, 
prattled  with  the  bat/y  calling  "  papa  "  and  "  Charle- 
roy,"  mother-like,  woman-like.  Self-condemning,  for 
this  was  a  half  confession  that  she  would  have  the 
little  one  think,  if  it  thought  at  all,  that  she,  the 
mother,  was  not  to  blame  for  ^he  absence.  The  baby 
had  caught  some  names  and  :n  its  moaning,  feverishly 
cried  :  "Abbaroy,  Abbaroy  ;  I  wan*,  jny  Abbaroy."  The 
cry  was  piercing  to  the  mother's  hea/t  and  conscience. 
She  even  then  wished  for  the  husband's  return.  In 
deed,  some  hot  tears  fell  as  she  prayed  God  to  send 
"  papa  Charleroy  back."  The  tie  of  marri&ge,  potent 
beyond  all  of  earth,  now  drew  her  away  toward  the 
absent  one,  and  she  then  began  to  marvel  how  easily 
they  had  separated  ;  how  lightly  they  had  regarded 
the  bonds  which  after  all  tightly  held  them.  When 


A  Battle  of  Giants  at  Bozrah.  241 

lives  have  blended  and  been  tied  together  by  other 
lives,  it  is  indeed  a  prophesy  of  union  "  until  death  do 
us  apart." 

"Abbaioy,  Abbaroy  !  I  want  my  Abbaroy,"  still 
piteously  cried  the  sick  child.  The  night  without  was 
raging;  the  little  lamp  sent  dancing  shadows  over  the 
black  walls  of  her  room  and  an  unutterable  loneliness 
took  possession  of  the  woman.  One  by  one  thoughts 
like  these  arose  ;  "  Father  dead,  mother  dead  ;  husband 
as  good  as  dead  ;  perhaps  really  so,  and  my  child  like 
\^j  die  !  What  if  she  should  die  thus  crying  for  her 
father!  Oh,  God  spare  me  this  !  I'd  go  mad  by  her 
corpse.  "  Abbaroy,  I  want  my  Abbaroy,"  sobbed  tne 
child  in  her  sleep.  The  mother  heard  the  waving 
palms  without.  Her  vivid  imagination  turned  them 
into  persons,  spirits.  They  seemed  to  be  her  dead  an 
cestors  and  they  caught  up  the  cry  of  her  child  rebuk- 
ingly  "  Abbaroy,  I  want  my  Abbaroy."  She  swooned 
now  and  slept.  In  the  sleep  there  came  a  dream.  She 
thought  she  saw  her  daughter,  grown  to  woman 
hood,  but  pale  and  sad.  She  had  the  hand  of  her 
mother  and  was  drawing  her  toward  the  sea.  When 
ever  the  mother  drew  back  the  daughter  wailed  "  Abba 
roy,  I  want  my  Abbaroy."  Presently  their  feet  touched 
the  water  edge,  she  saw  a  ship,  floating  at  anchor,  but 
with  sails  spread  partly ;  on  its  stern  was  the  name, 
"•England."  The  captain  stood  by  the  vessel's  side, 
observing  her.  At  last  he  cried:  "Well,  how  long 
must  we  wait  for  thee?"  A  wave  seemed  to  dash 
against  her  face  and  she  awakened.  The  heavy  win 
dow  blind  of  stone  had  swung  open,  the  rain  was  beat 
ing  in  on  her.  She  started  up  and  felt  for  her  child, 
half  fearfully  lest  a  corpse  should  meet  her  touch.  But 


242  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

she  found  her  hands  clasping  a  little  form  with  fast 
beating  heart  and  burning  skin.  The  liglu  had  gone 
out,  but  there  alone  in  that  desolate  home  amid  the 
ruins  of  past  ages,  the  woman  bowed  in  agonizing 
prayer.  The  balm  of  broken  hearts  was  sought  and 
she  for  a  time  was  clothed  and  in  her  right  mind.  She 
arose,  serenely,  in  the  morning  the  cry  of  the  sea  cap 
tain  of  her  dream  in  her  ears,  and  the  firm  resolve  in 
her  heart  to  seek  her  husband  even  in  far-off  England  ; 
with  him  to  try  for  the  things  that  make  for  peace. 
Then  she  opened  the  iron-bound  chest  that  had  come 
to  her  from  her  father  and  took  therefrom  a  roll  of  the 
'  Kethrubim  "  and  read.  And  it  so  happened  that  seek 
ing  to  refresh  her  mind  as  to  the  story  of  how  the 
giant  Sampson  got  honey  out  of  the  slain  lion's  car 
cass,  that  she  might  more  fully  apply  the  meaning  to 
her  own  experience,  she  came  to  the  story  of  his  birth. 
That  story  fixed  her  attention  for  days.  It  was  like  a 
new  revelation  to  her.  And  she  read  and  read  these 
words  over  and  over: 

"  And  there  was  a  certain  man  of  Zorah,  of  the 
Danites,  whose  name  was  Manoah. 

"  And  the  angel  of  the  LORD  appeared  unto  the 
woman,  and  said  unto  her,  Behold  now,  thou  shalt  con 
ceive  and  bear  a  son. 

"  Then  the  woman  came  and  told  her  husband,  say 
ing,  A  man  of  God  came  unto  me,  and  his  counte 
nance  was  like  an  angel  of  God,  and  he  said  unto  me, 
Behold  thou  shalt  bear  a  son. 

"  Then  Manoah  entreated  the  Lord  and  said,  O  my 
Lord,  let  the  man  of  God  which  thou  didst  send  come 
igain  unto  us,  and  teach  us  what  we  shall  do  unto  the 
child. 


A  Battle  of  Giants  at  Bozrah.  243 

"'  And  God  hearkened  to  the  voice  of  Manoah ;  and 
tlie  angel  of  God  came  again  unto  the  woman. 

"  And  the  woman  made  haste,  and  ran,  and  shewed 
her  husband. 

"And  Manoah  arose,  and  went  after  his  wife  and 
came  to  the  man. 

"  And  Manoah  said,  Now  let  thy  words  come  to 
pass.  How  shall  we  order  the  child,  and  how  shall  we 
do  unto  him  ? 

"And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  said  unto  Manoah,  Of 
all  that  I  said  unto  the  woman  let  her  beware. 

"  So  Manoah  took  a  kid  with  a  meat  offering,  and 
offered  it  upon  a  rock  unto  the  Lord  :  and  the  angel 
did  wondrously ;  and  Manoah  and  his  wife  looked  on. 

"  For  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  flame  went  up  to 
ward  heaven  from  off  the  altar,  that  the  angel  of  the 
Lord  ascended  in  the  flame  of  the  altar:  and  Manoah 
and  his  wife  looked  on  it,  and  fell  on  their  faces  to  the 
ground." 

And  as  Rizpah  read,  little  by  little,  the  truth  and 
beauty  of  the  scene  and  its  words  dawned  upon  her. 
Thusshe  meditated  :  "  This  is  the  way  God  brought 
forth  His  giant  deliverer,  Samson  ;  God  appeared  to  the 
woman  first,  but  she  hasted  to  tell  of  the  promised 
blessing  to  her  husband.  When  she  thought  of  how 
that  angel-led  wife  led  her  husband,  she  remembered 
her  own  fanatical  bitterness  and  was  condemned. 
Then  she  remembered  how  Manoah  and  his  wife, 
together,  asked  how  they  should  order  their  child  and 
how,  as  together  they  bowed  before  the  Spirit,  he 
ascended  in  glory  over  them.  "  Oh,"  she  moaned 
within  herself,  "  if  we  had  only  put  aside  our  differ 
ences  and.  forgetting  all  else,  just  so  sought  together 


244  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

the  Divine  directings  !  "  It  was  evening  as  she  medi 
tated,  and  she  said  within  herself:  "  If  ever  I  can  get 
nigh  Sir  Charleroy's  heart  I'll  tell  him  all  this,  and  be 
fore  the  altar  of  a  new  consecration  we'll  give  our 
selves  and  ours  to  God,  just  this  way."  There  came  a 
wondrous  joy  to  her  heart  and  the  palms  that  seemed 
to  moan  rebukingiy  without  that  other  night,  "  Abba- 
roy,  Abbaroy,  I  want  my  Abbaroy,"  this  night 
reminded  her  some  way  vaguely  of  the  beating  of 
mighty  wings,  approaching  nearer  and  nearer.  She 
felt  no  longer  rage,  as  she  thought  about  the  often  be- 
praised  Mary  of  her  husband,  but  on  the  other  hand, 
wished  she  knew  more  about  her,  were  more  like  her, 
It  was  the  woman  in  her,  yearning  for  a  mother. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

JRLZJA.H,   THE   ANCIENT    "MOTHER   OF   SORROWS. 

"  Oh  say  to  mothers,  what  a  holy  charge 
Is  theirs  !     With  what  a  queenly  power,  their  love 
Can  rule  the  fountain  of  a  new-born  mind. 
Warn  them  to  wake  at  early  dawn  and  sow 
Good  seed  before  the  world  has  sown  its  tares  ; 
Nor  in  their  toil  decline,  that  angel  bands 
May  put  their  sickles  in  and  reap  for  God 
And  gather  in  his  garner." 


EARLY  a  score  of  years  passed  away,  each 
having  wrought  its  changes,  and  Rizpah  de 
Griffin  is  dwelling  quietly  with  her  three 
children  at  Bozrah.  She  is  companionless 
though  not  a  widow.  Care  has  left  its  stern  impress  on 
her  every  feature  ;  the  roses  have  gone  from  her  cheeks 
and  the  snows  that  tarry,  baffling  all  springs,  are  on 
her  head.  But  time  that  has  worn  has  also  ripened. 
Rizpah  has  become  a  self-possessed,  stately  matron  ; 
her  form  is  erect,  her  eye  as  bright  as  ever.  Bozrah 
has  not  changed  ;  the  city  sits  in  its  sullen,  fixed 
gloom,  seemingly  unconscious  of  the  ravages  that 
time  works  elsewhere.  But  there  have  been  changes 
and  changes  among  the  people  since  first  the  woman 
of  Gerash  arrived  there.  Many  former  inhabitants  have 
wandered  away  ;  some  to  be  swallowed  up  by  the  tides 
of  peoples  of  other  climes  ;  some  have  gone  to  judg 
ment.  But  new  comers  have  taken  the  places  of  those 


246  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

that  had  departed  and  speeded  the  swift  enough  for- 
getting  of  the  absent  ones.  Rizpah  was  in  high  honor, 
for  although  she  lived  in  seclusion,  mixing  very  little 
with  any  of  the  people  about  her,  all  respected  her. 
Hers  was  a  well-ordered  house  ;  Druses,  Turks  and 
Hebrews  joined  in  affirming  this.  She  ruled  her  child 
ren  firmly  and  they  obeyed  her  implicitly,  for  they  loved 
her  loyally.  We  meet  her  now  amid  active  prepara 
tion  for  the  observance  of  the  approaching  Jewish  Sab 
bath.  With  her  are  two  boys,  twins,  born  in  London, 
as  like  each  other  as  could  be,  and  Miriamne.  The  lat 
ter  is  in  the  full  possession  of  her  roses,  and  in  the  en 
joyment  of  that  splendor  of  personal  charm  seemingly 
belonging  to  all  the  maidens  of  Abrahamic  descent 
under  "  the  covenant  of  the  stars  and  the  sand."  For 
are  not  Israel's  women  not  only  plenteous  and  bright 
and  lofty  like  the  stars,  and  her  men  numberless,  rugged 
and  restless  as  the  surf-washed  sands  on  every  shore  ? 
Does  not  this  race,  in  all  history,  continually  attest  the 
persistence  and  pre-eminence  of  all  good  to  those  who 
walk  under  the  Divine  covenants? 

Miriamne  not  only  is  seen  to  possess  a  gracefulness 
like  unto  that  of  the  palm,  nature's  pattern  of  beauty 
in  the  East,  but  she  has  such  robustness  of  form  as  might 
be  expected  in  one  born  of  such  a  Hebrew  mother  and 
such  a  Saxon  father.  In  her  temper,  poetic,  emotional, 
oriental,  like  her  mother;  in  feature  and  mind  more 
like  her  father  ;  she  was  a  better,  more  evenly  balanced 
result  than  either.  It  often  so  happens  ;  the  child  by 
some  natural  selection  or  some  mercifulness,  inheriting 
a  character,  the  resultant  of  the  union  of  two  sets  of 
parental  forces,  yet  finer  than  either  apart.  The  scien 
tific  man  in  such  cases  will  say,  herein  we  bchoM,  in  a 


Rizpah,  the  Ancient  "Mother  of  Sorrows."      247 

new  being,  physical  and  spiritual  forces  in  action,  the 
latter  gaining  the  advantage;  a  prophesy  without 
mystery  that  at  last  the  fittest  only  shall  survive.  The 
theologian,  on  the  other  hand,  will  see  Providence  elect 
ing  the  best  and  preparing  choice  characteristics  for 
superior  works  to  be  done. 

At  a  call  of  the  mother,  the  children  gathered  about 
her,  and  the  group  was  charming;  a  picture  full  of  ex 
pression  and  contrasts.  The  matron  cast  a  look  of 
yearning  affection  upon  her  offsprings,  and  the  emotion 
possessed  her  until  the  hard  face-lines  faded  into  a  sweet 
smile.  Just  then  she  would  have  been  a  satisfactory 
model  for  an  artist  painting  Madonna.  :i  Thank  God, 
children,  the  emblem  of  rest  and  of  hope  in  ages  to 
come  is  at  hand.  I  have  joyed  to-day,  in  full  prepara 
tion  that  this  next  Sabbath  may  be  piously  and  earn 
estly  celebrated  with  all  the  religious  exactness  of  our 
people."  Then,  patting  the  boys  on  their  heads  with 
playful  tenderness,  she  continued  :  "  Run  away  now  up 
to  the  synagogue-ruin  on  the  hill.  Don't  forget  your 
duty  in  play,  lads  ;  be  true  little  Israelites  !  When  ye 
see  the  sun  go  down  back  of  Gilead's  mountains,  give 
us  warning  of  the  Sabbath's  beginning.  Now  mind, 
1<  ;ep  your  eyes  toward  Jerusalem." 

The  lads  sped  away,  and  Rizpah  following  them  with 
her  eyes  prayed  in  heart :  "  God  bless  them,  and  though 
in  this  place  of  desolation,  make  them  little  Samuels 
in  faith  and  service."  A  little  after  her  face  glowed 
with  triumphant  joy,  for  there  came  back  to  her  ears 
the  boys'  voices,  mingling  in  sacred  song.  It  was  the 
psalm  of  the  "Captives'  Return  "  that  they  sang.  The 
declining  sun  began  to  throw  its  last  rays  through  the 
open  windows  of  the  huge  stone  home,  flooding  tne 


The  Queen  of  the  Hcrisc  of  David. 

black  basalt  walls  and  pavement  with  golden  tints 
Slowly  the  mother's  eyes  wandered  from  the  scene 
without  to  objects  within,  until  they  rested  on  a  huge 
painting  that  covered  nearly  half  the  opposite  wall.  One 
glance  and  her  whole  being  seemed  transformed.  In 
an  instant  her  reverential  and  weary  attitude  was 
changed  to  one  of  excited  attention.  She  grew  pale, 
her  body  swayed  with  a  waving  motion,  suggestive  of 
the  panther  creeping  toward  a  victim.  Then  her  form 
became  rigid  like  one  preparing  for  some  great  muscu 
lar  effort,  or  endeavoring  to  suppress  some  inner  tem 
pest.  Her  face,  made  habitually  calm  by  the  school 
ings  of  adversity,  became  a  theater  for  expression  of  the 
changing  emotion  within;  the  mouth-lines  putting  on 
a  firmness  almost  hideous;  her  eyes  glittered  like  a 
serpent's  in  the  act  of  charming  ;  contrasting  with  the 
forehead  that  shone  like  a  silver  shield.  She  was  as 
one  under  a  spell  or  in  a  trance  ;  but  for  a  few  moments 
only.  There  came  a  light  footfall ;  then  a  quick,  half 
frightened,  piteous  cry  and  Miriamne  stood  beside  her. 

"  Oh,  mother,  don't!  mother,  mother;  thou  dost  ter 
rify  me  ! "  The  young  woman  stopped  half  way  between 
the  open  door  and  her  parent.  Now  she  was  passing 
through  a  great  transition.  She  had  seen  all  that  was 
happening,  often  before  ;  had  often  run  away  from  the 
spectacle  to  hide  it  from  herself.  Now  she  was  trying 
to  nerve  herself  to  penetrate  the  mystery  in  the  hope 
of  preventing  its  painfulnesss.  She  was  at  the  turning 
point,  where  a  girl  changes  to  the  woman  within  the 
circle  of  parental  influences. 

But  so  complete  was  the  absorption  of  the  one  gaz 
ing;  upon  the  spectacle  upon  the  wall,  at  first  the  cry 
was  unheeded.  In  a  sort  of  sudden,  trembling  despe;- 


Rizpah,  the  Ancient  "Mother  oj  Sorrows."       249 

ation  the  young  woman  quickly  bounded  between 
her  mother  and  the  picture.  Then,  as  if  realizing  the 
unfilial  imprudence  of  the  act,  but  still  unwilling  to 
recede  from  efforts  to  break  the  spell  that  bound  her 
parent,  she  fell  upon  her  knees  before  the  seeming  dev 
otee  and  burst  into  tears.  The  mother  started  up  a 
little  as  one  awakening  from  a  dream  ;  then  said,  with 
perfect  control  of  voice  and  manner  ;  "  Marah,  what 
ails  thee?  Art  ill  ?  Are  the  Bedouin  coming?" 

"No,  no,"  replied  the  other;  "the  picture;  the 
picture  !  " 

"  What  is  it  child  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know.  I  only  know  that  your  strange, 
wild  gaze  upon  its  hideous  group  terrifies  me  !  For 
years  I've  learned  to  feel  a  mingled  disgust  and 
fright  in  the  presence  of  the  woman  in  that  pre 
sentment.  When  I  came  in,  your  face  looked  like 
hers.  You  did  not  seem  to  be  my  own  tender  mother, 
but  an  angry  virago.  Oh,  why  do  you  shadow  all  our 
Sabbath  eves,  by  this  mysterious,  cruel  staring  and 
moaning  before  this  imagery  of  death  ?  You've  made 
me  to  dread  the  approaching  Holy- Day,  promise  of  all 
delight  to  our  people,  as  the  advent  of  all  pain  to  us." 

"  Marah,  this  is  wickedness  in  thee.  Thou  shouldst 
learn  to  wrap  thy  soul  about  with  the  joys  thou  knowest, 
and  leave  all  this  that  thou  dost  not  understand,  most 
likely  terrible  to  thee  chiefly  because  thou  dost  not 
understand  it,  to  go  its  way." 

"  I've  tried  and  tried  for  months  to  reason  thus;  but 
how  little  comfort  to  be  saying  over  and  over,  'it's 
all  right,'  '  its  nothing,'  to  a  fear  that  stops  the  very 
beatings  of  the  heart.  Oh,  that  I  could  fly  from  this 
land  of  desolations.  Its  loneliness  and  shadows  keep 


250  The  Queen  of  tJie  House  of  David. 

coming  and  coming  around  me  until  I  dread,  lest  they 
enter  my  very  being  and  become  part  of  me.  I've  leaned 
hitherto  alone  on  my  mother's  greater  strength  for 
rest.  If  I  come  to  fear  her,  I'll  lose  my  reason  !  " 

"  Marah,"  said  the  mother,  with  enforced  calmness, 
'*  thou  art  feverish  to-day  ;  thou  hast  wrought  too  much. 
Now  retire  and  say  this  pillow  Psalm  ;  '  He  that  divel- 
leth  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High,  abidcth  Tinder 
the  shadow  of  the  Almighty.'  Thou'lt  be  peaceful  in 
the  morning  ;  as  are  those  ever  who  abide  under  the 
shadow  of  the  King." 

But  only  the  more  passionately  the  daughter  clung  to 
her  mother,  and  again  she  renewed  her  plaint  :  "  Ah, 
mother,  I  have' nt  strength  to  take  these  promises!  Oh 
forgive  me,  I  can  not  help  it  ;  I  feel  as  if  something 
awful  were  impending  ;  something  coming  between  us! 
A  curse  is  on  this  land.  Is  it  any  way  over  the  De- 
Griffins  ?  Tell  me,  I  beseech  you,  what  is  that  painted 
thing?  Sometimes  I  run  out  of  the  room  when 
alone,  as  if  those  men  hanging  there  were  still  alive,  in 
death's  agony.  I've  dreamed  sometimes  that  they 
came  down  in  bodily  form  charging  you  and  me  with 
murdering  them  ;  and  when  I  go  out  at  evening,  I  im 
agine  that  the  Ismaelitish  woman  in  the  foreground  is 
flitting  about  my  path,  while  in  every  thicket  I  hear 
the  flapping  wings  of  her  carrion  birds.  Oh,  mother! 
let  us  tear  down  that  sole  defilement  of  our  own 
little,  only  home,  and  give  it  to  the  pilgrim  Rabbi, 
now  in  Bozrah,  that  he  may  burn  it  with  exorcising 
rites." 

"Then  thou  thinkest  there's  witchery  hereabouts, 
Marah,"  said  the  mother,  severely. 

"  I  ?     I  do  not  know  what  I  think,  beyond  this,  that 


••»»» 


RizpaJi,  the  Ancient  "Mother  of  Sorrows"       251 

I  in  overcome,  terrified,  made  miserable,  and  you,  under 
some  spell  for  a  time,  cease  to  be  my  mother." 

"  My  daughter  profanes  her  faith  by  permitting  un 
reined  imaginations  to  rule  her  so." 

"  Oh,  tell  me  all  about  this  hateful  thing  !  Why  it  so 
moves  you.  You  said  long  ago  you  would  when  I  was 
able  to  bear  it.  I  am  no  longer  a  child.  Mother,  you 
say  you  read  me  like  an  open  book,  now  look  into  my 
heart  and  see  that  it  is  bursting  with  fright  and  worry  ! 
You  say  you  know  woman's  nature  ;  if  so,  you  know 
that  I  can  suffer  when  I  understand,  but  shall  go  mad 
in  the  suspense  of  constant  fear  of  some  threatening  ill 
unseen."  Thus  speaking  and  clinging  to  her  mother, 
with  a  twining,  almost  desperate  embrace,  such  as 
among  women  implies  unerringly  that  a  supreme  mo 
ment  and  demand  has  fallen  upon  the  questioner,  she 
burst  forth  in  tearless  sobs.  The  mother's  face  was  a 
study  and  told  of  a  succession  of  weighty  thoughts  ; 
parental  authority  brooked;  infringed  ;  new  surprised 
realization  that  the  daughter  was  no  longer  a  child,  but 
a  wise,  earnest  woman.  Then  there  was  a  degree  of 
fcarfulncss  springing  from  deep  love.  The  elder  wo 
man  perceived  the  crisis,  and  knew  full  well  that  in  such 
times  denials  to  a  woman  meant  a  dead  heart,  or  worse. 
Then  her  manner  softened,  and  drawing  her  child  to 
her  bosom  with  an  embrace  passionate  in  fervor,  she 
tenderly,  soothingly  spoke  to  her: 

"  My  most  dearly  beloved  Marah  !  dismiss  all  thy 
fears  at  once  and  forever.  They  are  needless.  Rest, 
now  and  always,  as  thou  never  canst  elsewhere,  in  all 
the  world,  upon  this  heart  of  mine.  Rest  thou  in  thy 
present  young  womanhood,  as  calmly,  as  trustingly,  as 
thou  didst  in  baby-hood.  That  heart  guarded  thee 


252  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David 

more  tenderly  than  its  own  life  then,  through  storm* 
within  and  without  that  nearly  broke  it.  In  part  thou 
dost  know  this;  remembering  what  it  has  been  in 
loyalty  to  God  and  thyself,  canst  thou  pain  it  by  one 
distrusting  thought  now?" 

"  Oh,  mother,  I  know,  I  know  ;  I  do  not  mean  to 
doubt  you,  and  I  remember,  with  a  gratitude  beyond 
all  my  poor  power  of  speech,  your  toiling,  patient, 
constant,  loving  care  for  me  and  my  brothers.  I  never 
can  forget  that  you  are  a  Hebrew  indeed,  proud  to 
emulate  the  noble  mothers  of  our  nation  in  its  olden, 
golden  days;  but  after  all  I  must  think.  I  think, 
sometimes,  with  anguish,  that  that  awful  picture  may 
some  way  come  between  us  !  " 

"  Why,  Marah,  impossible  !  thou  art  my  other  self; 
a  fairer  copy  ;  as  I  was  at  thy  age."  Then  Rizpah  spoke 
in  unusual,  confiding  tenderness:  "We  mothers  have 
our  vanities  and  take  a  secret  pride  in  wearing  our 
daughters  on  our  hearts  as  precious  jewels.  When 
nature  gratifies  that  pride  by  giving  us  daughters  in 
form,  features  and  mind,  mirrors  or  glad  reminders  of 
ourselves,  as  we  were  in  the  days  of  young  beauty, 
romancings  and  hopes,  we  hug  these  in  our  souls  in  a 
way  thou  canst  never  realize  until  thou  hast  been  such  a 
mother.  Change  ?  I  change  toward  thee  ?  Ah,  girl, 
not  being  a  mother,  thou  canst  not  begin  to  fathom 
the  ocean-depth,  the  heaven-height,  the  eternity-like 
unchanging  endurance  of  a  woman's  love,  once  it  has 
been  quickened  into  the  channels  of  maternal  affection. 
Thou  art  a  womrm  to  all  the  world,  but  not  so  to  me. 
I  love  thee  now  as  I  loved  thee  when  thou  wert  a 
babe.  To  me  thou  wilt  always  be  a  little,  lovely, 
needy  creature — an  angel  teaching  the  fountains  of 


Rizpah,  the  Ancient  "Hlofher  of  Sorrows."      253 

my  inmost  nature.  All  earthly  friendships  change ; 
lover's  love,  at  first  fierce,  generally  dies  as  the  tides  of 
years  roll  over  it ;  but,  mother-love,  in  all  loving,  is  the 
exception.  Believe  this  as  thou  dost  believe  the  ten 
ets  of  our  faith  and  thou'll  find  thy  troubling  thoughts 
fleeing  away  like  mists  of  Hermon,  before  the  conquer 
ing  banners  of  the  morning."  There  followed  a  pro 
longed  embrace  and  a  mutual  kiss  ;  impassioned,  affec 
tionate  ;  an  action  expressing  volumes  to  one  skilled 
in  interpreting  the  signs,  all  unvoiced  and  unwritten, 
yet,  by  some  constant  intuition,  known  to  all  woman 
kind  as  the  language  of  the  finest,  sincerest  loving. 
That  moment  these  two  women  passed  onward,  up 
ward  together  to  a  higher,  lighter,  stronger  relation 
ship  than  they  had  enjoyed  before.  They  entered  the 
temple  where  daughter  and  mother  begin  the  feast  of 
the  new  revelation  ;  when  to  the  love  of  parent  and 
child  is  added  that  of  real  companionship.  That  is  a 
sunny,  fruity  hour,  when  a  girl  is  received  as  a  woman 
by  a  woman  ;  that  woman  her  mother. 

The  two  sat  embracing  and  happy  for  a  long  time  ; 
but  the  old  pain  suddenly  revived — Miriamne's  eyes 
chancing  to  stray  to  the  picture.  She  shuddered,  then 
looked  pleadingly  into  her  parent's  eyes.  The  mother, 
quickly  interpreting  the  look,  tenderly  replied :  "  Some 
time." 

"  No,  oh,  no ;  tell  me,  mother,  all,  now !  Who, 
and  what  are  those  hanging  forms  ;  the  horror-frighted, 
bludgeon-armed  woman  ;  the  birds  of  black,  hovering 
over  the  crosses?  Oh!  my  mother,  you  trust  me  ;  now 
tell  me  all  or  tear  that  down  !  You  know  it's  not  lawful 
for  us  Jews  to  have  any  image  of  things  in  Hades." 

The  last  words  moved  the  mother  more  than  all  else 


1 54  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  Dai' id, 

that  Miriamne  had  hitherto  spoken.  Heresy,  she 
abominated  ;  and  the  chief  aim  of  her  life  had  been  to 
make  her  children  true  Israelites  by  precept  and  ex 
ample.  To  her  thinking,  Israel  alone  was  right  ;  all 
others  were  heathen,  to  whom  was  reserved  perdition. 
To  an  apostate,  in  her  belief,  there  came  a  final  judg 
ment  of  misery,  beggaring  all  attempt  at  description. 
A  little  while  she  hesitated,  and  then  came  to  quick 
resolve  to  tell  her  daughter  all.  She  arose,  walked 
rapidly  back  and  forth  over  the  stone  floor  of  the 
abode,  and,  then  stopping  before  the  daughter,  said  : 
"Thy  wish  shall  be  granted.  In  love  of  thee,  for  lo, 
these  many  years  I've  hidden  from  thee  one  miserable 
and  dark  chapter  of  our  family  history.  I  have  drank 
the  bitter  waters  alone.  But  too  much  I  love  thee  to 
bear  the  piteous  appeal  of  thy  lips,  or  the  look  of 
doubt  that  sometimes  flits  in  thy  questioning  eyes. 
Canst  thou  bear  knowledge  that  is  full  of  bitterness?" 

"  Yea,  mother,"  said  Miriamne,  there  is  no  bitterness 
in  reality  like  that  our  imaginations  conjure  up,  when 
fed  by  mysteries  that  hang  on  pictures  of  such  hideous 
mien  - 

"  Thou  dost  force  me  to  the  explanation,  but,  daugh 
ter  blame  me  not,  if,  like  Saul  of  old,  who  fainted  at 
the  sight  he  compelled  Endor's  witch  to  reveal,  thou 
art  given  now  some  knowledge  that  kills  thy  sunshine." 

"  I'm  the  daughter  of  Rizpah  and  Sir  Charleroy.  Did 
they  either  of  them  ever  fear?" 

"  Ah  !  but  I  have  been  the  very  mother  of  sorrows, 
ever  since  thy  birth,  child.  God  knows  it  ;  and  it 
were  best  to  leave  it  all  to  Him  alone." 

"  But,  mother,  I'd  gladly  share  your  sorrows.  Sor 
row  shared  is  ever  lightened  by  the  sharing.  Let  us 


Rizpah,  the  Ancient  "  Mother  of  Sorrows"      255 

bear  the  corpse  between  us,  and  in  this  lonely  life  we 
shall  be  made  more  than  ever  companions,  through  a 
common  grief." 

"  So  be  it  then.     Thou  shalt  know  all." 

And  Rizpah,  going  to  a  seldom-used  iron-bound 
chest,  drew  therefrom  a  parchment  roll;  handing  the 
same  to  her  daughter,  she  said  :  "  Read.  It's  part  of 
Father  Harrimai's  '  Ketliubim.'  '  The  place  opened  to 
the  story  of  the  famine  in  David's  time,  which  endured 
three  years,  because  of  wrongs  done  to  the  Gibeonites 
by  the  children  of  Israel.  As  Miriamne  read  onward, 
Rizpah  from  time  to  time  gave  explanations: 

"  Dost  perceive,  daughter,  that  Jehovah,  though 
not  revengeful,  is  a  God  of  recompenses?" 

"  lie  was  the  friend  of  the  Gibeonites  though  they 
were  not  of  his  chosen  people  ;  because  they  had  no 
other  friend,  I  think,"  said  Miriamne. 

"  Yes,  and  He  held  all  Israel  responsible  for  what 
they  were  willing  to  let  their  blood-thirsty  Saul  per 
form.  As  he  had  been,  so  had  been  the  people  ;  they 
were  guilty,  and  God  needed  to  punish  them.  How 
just!  Oh  !  God  is  sure  to  press  men  to  a  conclusion. 
Read  what  David  said  to  the  stranger  Gibeonites ;" 
Miriamne  continued: 

"  And  he  said,  what  ye  shaJl  say,  that  will  I  do  for 
you. 

"  And  they  answered  the  king,  the  man  that  con 
sumed  us,  and  that  devised  against  us  ; 

"  Let  seven  men  of  his  sons  be  delivered  unto  us,  and 
we  will  hang  them  up  unto  the  Lord  in  Gibeah. 

"And  the  king  said,  I  will  give  them. 

"  But  the  king  spared  Mephiboseth,  the  son  of  Jon- 
athan  the  son  of  Saul. 


256  77ie  Queen  of  the  House  of  David* 

"  But  the  king  took  the  two  sons  of  Rizpah,  the 
daughter  of  Aiah,  whom  she  bare  unto  Saul,  Armoni 
and  Mephiboseth  ;  and  the  five  sons  of  Michal  the 
daughter  of  Saul,  whom  she  brought  up  for  Adriel. 

"And  he  delivered  them  into  the  hands  of  the  Gib- 
eonites,  and  they  hanged  them  in  the  hill  before  the 
Lord  :  and  they  fell  all  seven  together,  and  were  put  to 
death  in  the  beginning  of  barley  harvest." 

Miramne  paused;  then  addressed  her  parent: 

"  Mother,  I'd  not  be  an  heretic,  and  yet  I  can  not  see 
the  justice  of  hanging  the  sons  for  the  father's  sins  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  they  were  parties  to  the  murder  ;  perhaps 
publicly,  or  in  heart,  defended  it.  At  any  rate,  from 
the  beginning  it  has  been  so.  Thou  and  thy  brothers 
are  living  here  fatherless  on  account  of  him  that  begat 


you 

"  Shall  I  stop  reading  this  bloody  story?"  quoth 
Miriamne. 

"  It  pains  thee.  Thou  must  go  on  now,  though  thou 
shouldst  fall  fainting,  as  Saul  at  Endor.  Read." 

The  daughter  complied,  and  with  quickly  revived  in 
terest,  for  she  came  to  the  name  "  Rizpah  "  the  second 
time,  but  before  she  had  not  noticed  it  in  reading. 

"  And  Rizpah,  the  daughter  of  Aiah,  took  sackcloth 
and  spread  it  for  her  upon  the  rock,  from  the  begin 
ning  of  harvest  until  water  dropped  upon  them  out 
or  heaven,  and  suffered  neither  the  birds  of  the  air  to 
rest  on  them  by  day,  nor  the  beasts  of  the  field  by 
night. 

"  And  it  was  told  David  what  Rizpah,  the  daughter 
of  Aiah,  the  concubine  of  Saul,  had  done. 

%:And  David  went  and  took  the  bones  of  Saul 
and  the  bones  of  Jonathan,  his  son,  from  the  men  of 


Rizpah,  the  Ancient  "  Mother  of  Sorrows"      257 

Jabesh-gilead,  which  had  stolen  them  from  the  street 
of  Beth-shan. 

"And  he  brought  up  from  thence  the  bones  of  Saul 
and  the  bones  of  Jonathan  his  son  ;  and  they  gathered 
the  bones  of  them  that  were  hanged. 

"And  the  bones  of  Saul  and  Jonathan  his  son 
buried  they  in  the  country  of  Benjamin,  in  Zelah,  in 
;he  sepulcher  of  Kish,  his  father  :  and  they  performed 
all  that  the  king  commanded.  And  after  that  God 
was  entreated  for  the  land." 

When  the  last  clause  was  finished,  Miriamne  cast  a 
glance  at  the  huge  painting  on  the  wall. 

"  I  understand  in  part;  that  is  Rizpah  and  her  cruci 
fied  children  ?  " 

"  It  is  well,  daughter.  Behold  her;  this  is  mother 
hood  of  strongest  type  !  Humanity  is  no  where  per. 
feet,  but  of  all  the  erring  ones  of  life,  I  most  believe  in 
those,  who,  among  many  perversions  of  judgment  and 
blemishes  of  character,  have  some  one  or  more  of  lofty 
virtues.  Methinks  a  soul  may  be  drenched  by  many 
sins,  and  yet,  if  within  its  very  core  it  carry  sincerely 
and  sacred  as  its  life  some  noble,  dominating  passion, 
like  the  holy  love  of  parent  for  a  child,  that  soul  will 
ever  have  thereby  a  gate  open  to  the  Holy  Spirit,  a 
handle  for  the  grasp  of  saving  angels,  and,  while  life 
lasts,  an  ever-flying  signal  lifted  toward  heaven.  Such 
prayer  unspoken  is  a  beseeching,  not  vainly  for  the  in 
terceding  love  of  Him  that  weighs  the  spirits." 

"But,  mother,  you're  not  such  a  tigress?  Not  like 
that  woman  ?" 

"  How  proud  I'd  be  to  be  indeed  all  she  was.  The 
exact  interpretation  of  •  Rizpah'  is  a  '  living  coal/  but 
her  name  interpreted  by  her  life  is  better  called  the 


258  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

'  flaming  beacon.'  We  mutually  lament  the  dispersion 
of  our  people  !  Dost  thou  remember  how  last  Sab 
bath  thou  wepst  while  thou  didst  read  to  me  the  words 
of  the  blessed  Isaiah  foretelling  the  long-delayed  but 
Divinely-promised  regathering  of  all  our  tribes  ?" 

" Oh  !  that  the  hills  of  Judea  would  glow  with  the 
beacons  of  that  day  !  " 

"Daughter,  God's  beacons  are  chiefly  noble  spirits, 
such  as  Moses  of  the  Exode,  Samson,  the  giant,  David, 
Nehemiah  and  Cyrus.  The  world  has  not  yet  inter 
preted  Rizpah,  the  '  burning  coal,'  the  beacon  fire. 
Once  I  was  frail,  timorous,  wavering,  but  devotion  to 
that  character  has  transformed  me.  When  the  world's 
mothers  look  to  her  pattern,  there  will  be  a  new  order 
of  motherhood  ;  then  look  for  heroic  men  and  an  heroic 
age!" 

"  But  was  not  Rizpah  a  Hivite,  a  descendant  of 
Ham,  and  so  of  those  forever  under  God's  curse?" 

"  My  child,  ancestry  is  not  always  the  test  of  worth 
The  consequences  of  sin  may  pass  down  from  sire  to 
son,  but  never  so  as  to  bar  the  way  to  hope,  nor  clam 
up  the  stream  of  ever-pitying  mercy  of  heaven.  Riz 
pah  had  some  true  Jewish  blood  within  her  heart,  and 
in  the  long  run  God's  providence  doth  work  to  make 
the  better  part,  of  admixed  good  and  ill,  dominate.  Be 
sides  all  this,  the  lovely  Ruth,  thou  dost  emulate  so  well, 
was  foreign  to  our  people.  So,  too,  was  Rahab  ;  and  our 
Rabbis  tell  us  she  was  in  the  royal  line  of  David,  from 
which  at  last  the  Messiah  shall  arise.  Those  women, 
with  Rizpah,  were  beacons  to  the  world  !  While  man 
kind  revere  true  love,  constancy,  loyalty  and  faith, 
those  names  will  be  remembered." 

'"  But,  mother,    Rizpah   was  the  concubine  of  Saul, 


Rizfiah,  tJie  Ancient  "Mother  of  Sorrows" 

and  as  I  think  of  how  you  oft  denounce  the  harems  of 
our  neighboring  Bedawin,  my  very  soul  blushes  at  hear 
ing  you  admire  this  woman  so." 

'•  Ah,  daughter,  methinks  she  was  more  sinned  against 
than  winning.  Recall  the  unequal  struggle  :  Rizpah,  a 
foreigner,  of  a  nation  subdued  by  kingly  Saul ;  he  a 
man,  strong  of  mind,  a  king,  hedged  with  a  sort  of 
divinity  that  in  the  minds  of  the  simple  ever  hedges 
kings  about ;  making  their  words  and  deeds  seem 
always  right  and  just.  If  women  made  the  laws  and 
customs  there  never  would  have  been  known  on  earth 
unclean  polygamy,  but  ever  instead  thereof  the  union 
only,  in  holy  wedlock,  of  two  lives,  mutually  conse 
crated,  serviceful  and  constant.  Under  wrong  teach 
ing  and  tyranny,  a  woman  may  do  that  which  purer 
societies  condemn,  and  yet  retain  a  conscience  white 
and  clean  before  God. 

"Within  that  book  of  Samuel,  which  I  hold,  it  is  re 
corded  that  Ishbosheth,  a  son  of  Saul,  who  for  a  time 
reigned  in  a  rebellious  confederacy,  a  horseman's  day's 
journey  from  here,  at  Mahanaim,  charged  Rizpah  once 
with  an  act  of  impurity. 

"  The  record  makes  no  mention  of  Rizpah's  reply. 
Like  thousands  of  women  before  and  since  her  time, 
she  was  defenseless  against  slander.  Men,  the  stronger, 
may  malign  without  evidence,  and  often  it  doth  out 
weigh,  to  ears  ripe  to  feast  upon  the  carrion  of  a  scandal, 
the  indignant  denial  of  outraged  purity,  accompanied 
even  with  evidences  which  make  the  thought  of  crime 
upon  the  part  of  the  one  belied,  seemingly  an  impossi 
bility.  But  leave  all  that ;  I  appeal  in  behalf  of  my  re- 
vered  Rizpah  to  her  wondrous  loyalty  as  a  mother.  Tell 
me  not  that  this  sublimely  heroic  woman,  who  patiently 


?.6o  The  Queen  of  ike  House  of  David. 

watched  the  corpses  of  her  sons  and  other  kin  from 
April,  through  all  the  lonely  nights  and  through  all 
those  burning  days,  until  October  rains  wept  them  to 
their  burial,  ever  did  an  act  that  could  let  loose  upon 
them  living  or  dead  the  hounds  of  scandal  !  They  may 
have  suffered  death  as  malefactors,  in  God's  sight,  but 
still  her  mother-love  clung  to  them.  She  who  kept 
those  long  vigils,  lest  beast  or  bird  of  prey  should  harm 
or  mar  or  pollute  the  bodies  precious  to  her  if  to  no 
one  else,  I  am  assured,  beyond  all  cavil,  never  did 
aught  that  could  have  stung  their  brows  or  embittered 
their  hearts  !  Such  motherly  devotion  as  hers  doth 
fully  purify  a  woman.  He  who  planned  society,  with 
its  sacred  foundations  resting  so  largely  on  the  integrity 
of  its  child-bearers,  has  planted  in  the  bosom  of  woman 
this  all-possessing  love  of  her  offspring,  as  her  safe- 
guard.  It's  her  wall  of  fire  by  day  and  by  night,  and 
verily  more  restraining  to  her  than  any  law  of  man, 
command  of  God,  or  fear  of  hell !  " 

"And  are  loving  mothers  never  unchaste?  " 

"  The  Jews  hated  swine  and  the  monster  deities  of 
Chaldeans,  because  both  destroyed  their  young,  and 
our  holy  Talmudists'  declare  that  Mary  of  the  Chris 
tians,  not  being  as  pure  as  the  Nazarene's  followers 
affirm,  is  doomed  to  bide  even  in  lowest  Hades  with 
the  bar  of  hell's  gate  through  her  ear.  No;  I,  as  a 
Jewish  woman,  believe  that  one  of  my  sex  being  a 
mother  and  impure  is  neither  loving,  nor  a  woman  !  " 

"  How  I  revere  the  noble  sentiments  of  Rizpah  of 
Bozrah  !  " 

"  For  all  I  am,  after  God,  praise  that  ancient,  fervent 
beacon,  Rizpah  of  Gibeah  !  " 

"I  am  in  part  reconciled  to  her,  but  yet  I  wish,  in 


Rizpah,  the  Ancient  "Mother  of  Sorrows."       261 

frightened  agony  often,  that  you  would  renounce  this 
historic  Rizpah  ;  lioness-like  in  her  devotion  to  her  off 
spring,  but  full  of  murderous  fury  toward  any  that 
crossed  her  love.  Our  holy  book  must  have  sweeter, 
nobler  ideals  for  our  inspiration." 

"  I  judge  this  Hebrew  heroine  mother  by  her  in- 
fluence  upon  me,  and  that  has  been  for  good.  The 
hypocrite  or  romancer  may  call  the  passer-by  to  prayer 
and  have  no  more  soul  in  it  than  the  Moslem  trumpet. 
Only  those  who  have  some  God-like  saintliness  of 
character,  can  win  effectually,  unceasingly.  There  is 
mighty  power  in  the  unspoken  sermons  of  such  a  life. 
I  cherish  Rizpah,  whose  touch  of  moral  power,  coming 
where  and  when  I  was  weak  to  callowness,  girded  me 
with  purpose  for  wavering  and  thews  of  steel  for  rosy 
softness.  I  was  once  like  thee,  a  fragile  flower,  but  the 
example  of  that  patient  woman's  heroism,  ever  before 
me,  has  fitted  me  to  meet  my  awful  trials  and  worthily 
inhabit  this  giant-built  house.  Thou  dost  remember, 
Miriamne,  at  last  Passover  time  they  wish,  as  thou 
didst  read  to  me  of  Jacob,  that  even  now  a  ladder  with 
communicating  angels  might  be  set  up  from  earth  to 
heaven?  " 

"Ah,  that  would  be  a  feast;  angels  in  burning 
bushes,  or  by  fountains  as  in  Hagar's  time  !  I  often 
worship  in  the  thicket  and  pray  for  heaven's  messen 
gers  from  Paradise  to  fan  the  flames  of  our  devotion, 
as  Gabriel  did  the  orisons  of  Daniel.  But  I'd  be  afraid 
to  meet  an  angel  like  your  Rizpah." 

"Not  so  with  me,  Marah.  Indeed,  I  often  think  of 
Rizpah  and  Jacob  together.  Thou  rememberest  how, 
not  far  away,  at  Mahanaim,  Jacob  of  old  met  a  host  of 
angels?  They  came  to  cheer  him  in  an  hour  of  sad 


262  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

depression,  the  saddest  kind  indeed ;  for  in  that  hour 
he  remembered  amid  his  repentings  that  he  was  soon 
to  face  the  brother  whom  long  years  before  he  had 
wronged.  Well,  when  Rizpah,  by  the  death  of  Saul, 
was  released  from  that  domineering  madman-king, 
she  made  her  home  at  Mahanaim,  the  place  near  which 
Jacob  counseled  with  the  angels.  Methinks  she  there 
also  communed  with  the  spirits  that  do  excel  in  strength. 
She  may  have  been  weak  before,  but  in  that  angel 
school  she  outgrew  her  master.  Ay,  my  child,  it  is 
marvelous  how  a  woman  rises  under  the  impulses  of  a 
noble  love,  holy  companionship  and  plenty  of  sorrow. 
Many  a  male  brute  has  flattered  himself  he  was  crush 
ing  into  fawning  servitude  by  his  imperious,  selfish  will, 
his  weaker  child-burdened  mate,  only  some  day  to  find 
the  victim  asserting  her  individuality  with  power  un 
earthly.  The  partridge  skulks,  terrified  amid  lowly 
grasses  from  the  hunter,  little  by  little  gathering  cour 
age  for  her  pinions,  then  she  suddenly  departs  to 
return  no  more,  meanwhile  luring  the  hunter  from  her 
treasures." 

"  That  is,  an  abused  wife  should  run  away?" 
"Oh,    perhaps    not;    but    she    may   rise    above  her 
tyrant." 

"  I  can't  but  remember  the  woman's  rough  strength." 
"Tome  the  all-controlling  love  of  Rizpah  for  her 
children  condones  her  former  errings,  her  Philistine 
ancestry,  her  craggedness.  I  believe  she  soars  with  the 
angels  now,  and  to  Israel  she  must  be  a  pattern  until 
some  more  saintly  and  finer  woman  arises  to  take  the 
leadership  of  woman." 

"Will  such  an  one  appear,  mother?" 
God's  dial  is  a  circle,  with  a  sweep  like  eternity, 


Rizpah,  the  Ancient  '•'Mother  of  Sorrows"       263 

He  knows  no  hurry;  yet,  though  never  weary,  is  never 
belated.  We  are  not  waiting  for  him,  but  He  is  for  us. 
When  man  is  ready  to  take  up  his  pilgrim  march  to  the 
highlands  of  a  living,  all  light,  all  beautiful,  there'll  be 
beacons  and  beacons  from  the  valleys  to  the  hills." 

Just  then  the  lamp  by  which  they  had  been  sitting, 
for  some  time  having  only  flickered,  was  suddenly 
quenched,  and  there  was  a  sound  of  the  fluttering  of 
wings  in  the  room.  Mariamne  screamed  and  clung  to 
her  mother,  her  thoughts  on  the  vultures  of  the  picture. 

"  'T\vas  only  a  bat,  daughter !  " 

"  Oh,  this  ghostly  place  !  "  the  young  woman  cried. 

"Ghosts  and  bats  are  very  harmless;  would  men 
were  like  them  !  "  bitterly  spoke  Rizpah. 

"  A  bat  putting  out  our  light ;  it's  like  an  omen  !  " 

"  Yes,  wrongs  do  put  cut  the  light  of  human  joy,  but 
only  for  a  little  while;  look  out  to  the  firmanent,  my 
clinging  other  self,  as  I  do,  for  comfort  by  times.  See, 
the  stars  are  immovable;  all  bright  and  in  seemingly 
everlasting  calm.  Never  forget  in  any  long  trial,  or 
sudden  terror,  that  when  our  human-made  lights  expire 
we  are  to  turn  our  eyes  toward  heaven.  In  truth,  God 
Himself  often  quenches  our  lights  to  make  us  look  up 
to  His."  The  mother,  approaching  the  stone  case 
ment,  and  looking  out  on  the  sky,  continued :  "The 
heavens  are  full  of  beacons  and  lamps.  They  shall 
light  us  to  bed  as  His  truth  lights  those  who  will  to 
serene,  long  rest.  Good  night,  my  child." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


THE   QUEEN   PROCLAIMED   IN  THE   GIANT   CITY. 

"  Half-hearted,  false-hearted  !     Heed  we  the  warning ! 

Only  the  whole  can  be  perfectly  true ; 
Bring  the  whole  offering,  all  timid  thought  scorning, 
True-hearted  only  if  whole-hearted  too." 

— HAVERGAL. 

NOTHER  Passover  season  was  at  hand,  and 
the  few  Israelites  in  and  about  Bozrah,  not 
being  permitted  to  celebrate  the  feast,  at 
Jerusalem  were  gathering  for  a  "  Little 
Passover  "  at  the  Giant  City.  There  was  sadness,  mur- 
murings  and  fears  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  Sad 
ness  in  remembering  the  decadence  of  Israel ;  fears,  for 
there  were  Mamelukes  hovering  threateningly  in  large 
numbers  near  the  city;  murmurings,  because  fault 
findings,  the  last  stage  to  indifference,  flourish  when 
religion  is  decaying.  Faith  and  doubt  waged  their 
eternal  battle  ;  and  at  Bozrah,  doubt  appealing  to  pres 
ent  facts,  had  the  easier  part  against  faith,  appealing 
to  past  providences  or  unseen  hopes.  There  was 
clamor  for  a  change,  but  the  leaders  of  the  people  were 
purblind  to  any  new  light.  They  crushed  their  own 
secret  doubts  and  continued  to  enforce  what  they  be 
lieved,  because  they  had  believed  it.  They  felt  a  sense 
of  responsibility,  and  that  made  them  very  conserva 
tive.  Before  the  sun  had  reached  high-noon  Bozrah 


The  Queen  Proclaimed  in  the  Giant  City.        265 

was  all  astir.  There  were  but  two  principal  streets 
in  the  city ;  these  ran  by  the  four  great  points  of  the 
compass  and  crossed  at  its  center.  Two  companies  of 
Jews  of  very  different  make-up,  each  moving  along  one 
of  those  streets,  met,  and,  in  passing,  quite  accidentally, 
the  two  processions  formed  a  cross.  One  of  the  com 
panies  was  made  up  of  priests  and  serious  old  men,  the 
true  elders  of  the  people.  They  tried  to  appear  very 
wise  and  very  pious,  and  succeeded.  They  tried  as  well 
to  cheer  and  comfort  all,  and  did  not  succeed  very  well. 
The  other  company  was  made  up  of  young  Israelitish 
men.  They  were  going  eastward  ;  the  old  men  walked 
northward,  away  from  the  sun,  now  a  little  more  than 
southeast.  By  the  side  of  the  elders  glided  a  row  of 
shadows  of  their  own  making.  But  they  were  as 
unconscious  of  these  as  of  the  shadows  their  musty 
traditions  flung  over  the  people. 

The  youths  felt  like  singing,  so  they  sang.  The 
sadness  that  \vas  so  general  was  not  very  deep  with 
them.  They  would  have  liked  to  have  sung  a  sort 
of  convivial  song;  but,  that  being  forbidden,  they  com 
promised  with  their  consciences  and  the  situation 
by  singing  the  one  hundred  and  twenty-second  Psalm, 
with  the  vigor  of  a  madrigal.  They  had  a  surplus 
age  of  vitality,  and  they  let  it  flow  out  in  the  pious 
canticle.  Certainly  they  conserved  outward  propriety; 
as  to  their  inward  feelings,  they  themselves  hardly 
knew  what  they  were;  hence,  it  would  be  unjust, 
for  one  without,  to  pass  judgment.  The  Psalm  was 
appointed  to  be  sung  at  this  feast.  They  say  the  return 
ing  captives,  coming  from  Babylon,  centuries  before, 
sang  this  song  as  they  ascended  to  a  sight  of  Jeru 
salem. 


266  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

Now,  some  of  the  elders  had  come  to  think  it  piety 
to  morbidly  nurse  their  sorrows.  They  were  never 
happy  except  when  they  were  miserable.  One  of  these 
paused  and  addressed  the  young  singers : 

"  Children,  cease.  Your  time  is  too  much  like  a 
dancer's." 

Then  all  eyes  turned  toward  the  leader  of  the 
youths,  a  man  with  a  Saul-like  neck,  large  mouth,  wet, 
thick  lips,  and  burning  eyes  ;  all  bespeaking  a  person 
who  is  never  religious  beyond  the  drawings  of  religicus 
excitement,  for  excitement's  sake,  and  never  self- 
restraining,  except  as  checked  by  fear  of  a  very  mate 
rial  hell.  Such  an  one,  if  he  have  any  regularity  in 
his  piety,  will  have  it  because  somebody  opposes,  or 
because,  having  swallowed,  with  one  lazy  gulp,  a  heavy 
creed,  he  thereafter  goes  about  condoning  by  habit  his 
petty  vices,  in  trying  to  force  others  to  be  better  than 
he  himself  ever  expects  to  be.  Such  are  never  spiritual, 
and  seldom  martyrs  ;  but  they  make  good  persecutors, 
and  so  do  a  work  that  compels  others,  by  suffering,  to 
be  spiritual,  and,  may  be,  good  martyrs.  This  leader 
made  sharp  retort,  thrusting  out  his  chin  to  enforce  it : 

"  The  Psalm  is  all  right,  and,  if  the  old  men  sang 
more,  they  would  have  less  time  for  moaning.  Sing 
ing  and  moaning  are  much  alike,  only  the  former 
cheers  men,  the  latter,  devils  !  " 

"  Son,"  replied  the  patriarch,  "  revile  not  the  fathers, 
We  do  not  condemn  thy  joy  as  sin  ;  but  yet  it  now 
seems  inopportune.  We  are  entering  captivity,  not 
liberation.  Our  holy  and  our  beautiful  temple  is  in 
ruins  ;  our  people  like  hunted  quail." 

"  But,  this  is  feast  time,"  said  the  youth. 

"  What  a  feast !     I  remember  it  as  it  was  when  the 


The  Queen  Proclaimed  in  the  Giant  City.        267 

.lation  gathered  at  Jerusalem,  to  the  number  of 
nigh  3,000,000,  and  offered  250,000  lambs.  Ah, 
now,  a  handful,  in  this  grim  old  city  surrounded  by 
aliens  !  " 

The  elder,  so  speaking,  bowed  his  head,  threw  his 
mantle  over  his  eyes  and  wept ;  meanwhile  his  fellow- 
elders  gathered  about  him,  very  reverently,  and  waved 
their  hands  rebuking  toward  the  youths.  Just  then 
there  drew  near  a  beautiful  Jewess,  led  by  an  aged 
man,  the  latter  garbed  partly  as  an  Israelite,  and  partly 
as  one  of  the  Druses.  He  had  a  saintly  mien,  and  fixed 
the  attention  of  the  elders  ;  but,  the  young  men,  \vith 
one  accord,  youth-like,  at  once  erected,  in  silent  wor 
ship,  an  unseen  altar  of  devotion  to  the  new  goddess. 
The  grouping  was  striking  and  suggestive.  The 
stranger  was  silent,  and  seemed  to  be  intent  on  passing 
by  so ;  but  the  elders  felt  their  responsibility.  It  is 
the  fate  of  the  religious  leader  to  be  expected  to 
explain  everything.  He  must  talk  to  everybody,  and 
about  every  matter.  He  cannot,  when  he  will,  keep 
quiet  and  so  get  the  credit  for  fullness  of  wisdom,  as  do 
some.  He  must  express  an  opinion,  for  silence  is 
deemed  a  greater  sin  in  such  than  insincerity  or  words 
out  of  ignorance.  The  foremost  of  the  elders  felt 
called  to  act,  and  so  confronting  the  two  new  comers, 
sternly  addressed  the  maiden: 

"  I  perceive  that  thou  art  of  my  people  ;  wherefore 
comest  thou  here,  and  in  this  companionship?  Know- 
est  thou  not  that  women  are  forbidden  to  be  at  the 
first  of  the  feast  ?" 

The  young  men  were  not  in  accord  with  the  elder; 
they  stood  apart,  and  some  whispered  to  others  • 

"  It  is  Miriamne  de  Griffin.  " 


268  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

The  maiden  shrank  back  a  little ;  but  the  saintly  man 
with  her,  advancing  a  step,  replied  : 

"  I  am  the  maiden's  guardian  to-day,  fathers,  and 
responsible  for  her  act.  Say  on!  " 

The  elder,  though  knowing  full  well  who  the  speaker 
was,  and  also  fully  understanding  the  import  of  his 
challenge;  pretended  to  have  neither  heard  nor  seen 
him.  He  looked  past  the  speaker,  who  was  champion 
ing  the  maiden,  and  continued  : 

"  Do  thy  people  at  home  know  of  these  indiscreet 
acts?" 

"  Hold,  Rabbi !  no  insinuations."  The  saintly  man's 
voice  was  commanding,  and  compelled  silence.  He 
continued  :  "  We  go  our  way,  ye  yours.  Ye  can  not 
help  yourselves  out  of  your  miseries  ;  then  presume 
not  to  direct  us."  He  checked  his  rising  anger,  re 
membering  that  he  was  a  religious  teacher,  and 
launched  out  in  a  wayside  sermon.  "Ye  children  of 
Abraham,  hear  me,  though  I  came  not  to  counsel.  Ye 
have  stopped  my  progress,  now  hear  God's  truth ! 
There  are  dangers  without,  but  greater  ones  within  ; 
though  your  eyes,  being  veiled,  ye  perceive  not  these 
things.  I  noticed  as  I  was  coming  this  way  that  the 
tombs  and  grave-stones  every  where  have  been  whitened 
recently.  They  tell  me  this  was  done  so  as  to  enable 
your  people  plainly  to  see  them  and  so  avoid  them. 
Yet  fleeing  defilement  of  the  dead,  ye  live  in  a  grave, 
all  of  you.  All  your  prefiguring  feasts  have  ripened 
into  a  glowing  present  that  treads  out  into  a  full 
day!" 

The  old  men  seemed  puzzled  and  angry;  the  young 
men  puzzled  but  glad.  They  welcomed  any  sermon  if 
rt  came  with  novelty.  They  reasoned  within  them- 


The  Queen  Proclaimed  in  the  Giant  City.         269 

selves  that  the  old  teachings  were  dead,  and  that  a  new 
creed  could  be  no  worse.  If  it  were  novel,  it  would 
have  at  least  a  temporary  freshness. 

The  speaker  proceeded,  for  the  congregation  before 
him,  being  divided  in  sentiment,  invited  him,  so  far,  to 
pioceed. 

"  Oh,  nation,  called  to  be  the  light  of  the  world, 
ye  bear  but  phantom  torches.  Ye  move  sorrowfully, 
surrounded  by  walls  of  cloud,  but  just  beyond  there 
lies  a  glorious  firmament,  aglow  with  suns  of  hope  and 
a  thousand  golden-arched  doors  made  of  realized  pro 
phecies  and  promises  ripened.  Can  ye  make  these 
ruined  habitations  of  mighty  men,  now  sleeping  in  the 
cliffs  and  valleys  about  us,  again  teem  with  their  former 
life?  No,  no  !  yet  less  readily  can  ye  make  your  dead, 
finished,  vanishing  types  take  new  life.  Ye  are  puz 
zled  and  partially  angry,  but  hold  in  check  the  hot 
blood.  I'll  soon  depart  ;  yet  before  I  go,  I'll  tell  ye, 
all,  this  for  your  deepest  thinking  :  Ye  can  never  cele 
brate  again  the  Passover !  God  shut  ye  from  your 
Temple  long  ago  to  teach  you  this;  these  traveling 
ceremonials  of  yours  are  but  mockeries.  The  last  real 
passover  was  celebrated  when  your  fathers  slew  the 
Nazarenc " 

"  Let  us  stone  him  !  "  vehemently  cried  the  brawny 
leader  of  the  youths,  and  the  elders  turned  their  backs, 
as  if  to  give  approval  to  the  violence,  but  not  incur  lia 
bility  by  witnessing. 

The  brawny  youth  seized  a  boulder  as  if  to  begin  ; 
the  saintly  man  did  not  move,  and  another  youth 
seized  the  arm  of  the  youth  of  brawn. 

"Young  men,  I'll  show  you  an  entrancing  picture," 
was  the  saintly  man's  calm  words.  They  were  in« 


270  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David, 

stantly  intent.  "  Look,  you  and  your  old  men 
make  the  sign  of  the  cross  by  your  ranks. 
Look  again,  by  the  cross  stands  this  damsel,  simple, 
pure  and  loving ;  an  ideal  woman.  Her  name,  Miri- 
amne,  or  Mary.  Do  not  delude  yourselves  into  the 
belief  that  it  will  be  safe  or  possible  for  you  to  silence 
truth  by  murdering  me.  I'd  despise  your  attempt  if  I 
did  not  pity  your  thoughtless  rage.  Do  not  forget  the 
picture  of  this  hour.  The  Passover  will  be  fully  cele 
brated  when  the  power  of  the  cross  and  the  presence 
of  purity  is  universally  felt  in  earth.  Only  your  men  at 
tend  this  your  sacrifice.  It  is  well ;  and  when  men 
truly  bear  the  burden  of  sacrifice,  women  will  be  at 
their  feast.  Now,  then,  take  heed.  Farewell,  an 
cients  ! " 

So  saying  the  saintly  man  of  strange  garb  suddenly 
turned  away,  drawing  the  Jewess  with  him.  The  elders 
were  confounded  ;  they  could  not  find  words  at  the 
moment  for  reply ;  they  were  stung  by  the  pleased  and 
approving  glances  that  the  young  men  gave  the  de 
parting  couple.  The  elders  would  have  been  pleased 
to  have  taken  the  Jewish  maiden  from  her  escort  with 
violence,  but  the  latter  was  a  brawny  man.  The  elders 
knew  the  youths  would  not  aid ;  to  attempt  it  them 
selves  would  be  likely  to  be  a  failure,  certainly  undig 
nified.  They  deemed  it  wise,  in  any  event,  to  con 
serve  their  dignity,  and  being  unable  to  do  any  thing 
more  terrific,  they  hissed  an  orthodox  malediction  after 
the  departing  man  and  woman.  That  made  the  elders 
feel  a  little  better.  The  two  companies  at  the  cross 
ing  of  the  streets  fell  to  musing  and  conversing,  but  in 
different  groups.  The  old  men  talked  as  old  men,  de 
ploring  the  present  and  be-praising  the  past ;  the  youths 


The  Queen  Proclaimed  in  the  Giant  ttty.        271 

deplored  the  present  and  be-praised  the  future ;  some 
of  them  trying  to  interpret  the  words  of  the  saintly  man. 
They  all  wanted  to  be  very  orthodox  Jews,  and  yet 
they  all  felt  that  the  stranger's  words  were  full  of 
sweetness  and  good  cheer.  Some  of  the  youths,  like 
others  of  their  age,  had  unconsciously  sided  with  the 
strangers  on  account  of  the  woman's  influence.  They 
admired  her,  and  the  side  she  was  on  was  charmingly 
invincible. 

"  The  Arabs  are  coming  !  " 

It  was  a  cry  starting  up  from  all  directions,  and 
passed  from  lip  to  lip  like  the  tidings  of  fire  at  night. 
The  city  was  soon  in  confusion  and  panic  ;  then  mixed 
crowds  surged  toward  the  crossing  of  the  streets  like 
terrified  sheep.  They  needed  leaders  or  shepherds. 
But  the  elders  so  lavish  in  advice  usually,  were  dumb 
with  fright  now.  Yet  every  body  looked  toward  them 
for  direction.  Suddenly,  the  saintly  man  and  the 
Jewess  reappeared  ;  as  suddenly  transformed  to  a  self- 
reliant  leader,  she  cried  out:  "Youths  of  Israel,  to  the 
defense  ;  the  enemy  rome  in  by  the  wall  toward  the  Sun 
Temple's  ruins ! " 

"  Perhaps  it's  the  '  Angel  of  Death,'  "  cried  the  thick- 
necked  leader  of  the  youths. 

"  The  All-Father  of  the  covenant  forefend  !  "  groaned 
some  of  the  elders. 

"  Fathers,"  cried  the  Jewess,  "  pray  as  you  can,  but 
we  younger  ones  must  fight  as  well  as  pray.  Pray  the 
men  to  go  to  a  charge  !  " 

"  A    Deborah !  "   shouted    the    thick-necked    youth, 
'  Now  lead  and  we'll  follow !  ' 

"  Shame  !  "  cried  the  saintly  man.  "  Lead  your, 
selves ! " 


272  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David, 

There  was  no  need  of  argument  ;  the  thick-necked 
youth  waved  his  hand  to  the  other  young  men  and 
the  /  all  dashed  away  to\vard  the  advance  of  the 
enemy;  all  of  the  city  having  a  mind  to  fight,  becom 
ing  instant  volunteers.  But  the  elders,  with  a  piety  en 
forced  by  prudence  concluded  to  stay  at  the  crossing 
and  pray.  Perhaps  in  their  hearts  they  reasoned  that 
if  the  enemy  were  repulsed  they  might  claim  the 
glory  of  having  sustained  the  fighters,  as  Aarons  and 
Hurs  ;  if  the  youths  and  their  followers  were  overcome, 
then  they,  the  elders,  might  claim  prescience  and  say 
at  the  end  :  "  We  knew  it  were  vain  to  resist." 

Soon  there  were  heard  the  shouts  and  clangor  of 
conflict.  The  fight  was  on.  Miriamne  breathlessly 
carried  the  news  to  her  mother. 

The  matron  laid  her  hand  on  her  bosom,  not  to  still 
a  fluttering  heart,  but  affectionately  to  toy  with  the 
handle  of  her  faithful  dagger. 

"  Oh,  mother,  when  will  these  troublous  times  end  ? 
what  shall  we  do  ?  " 

"Daughter,  fight  !  if  need  be." 

"  But  we  are  only  women  !  " 

"  But  this  is  woman's  time  ;  remember  Sisera  !  " 
Rizpah  began  dressing  for  departure. 

"Oh,  mother,  wait!  Let  us  send  the  boys  for  news 
into  the  city.  Perhaps  the  worst  has  not  come,  when 
the  mothers  must  take  arms." 

Rizpah  silently  assented.  The  boys  were  sent,  and 
in  half  an  hour  returned  with  hot  and  beaming  faces. 
"  The  Mamelukes  are  all  slung  out  of  the  city  !  Lots 
of  them  killed,"  both  exclaimed,  between  their  pant- 
ings. 

*'  How  brothers  :  is  it  all  over?  " 


The  Queen  Proclaimed  in  the  Giant  City.        273 

"  Yes,  all  over !  They're  gone  !  Oh,  you  ought  to 
have  seen  how  our  young  men  and  the  Druses  raced 
them,"  interposed  one. 

"  If  it  hadn't  been  for  the  Druses  we'd  all  been  mur 
dered  !"  cried  the  other.  Then  the  brothers  caught  up 
the  narrative  in  turn. 

"And,  Miriamne,  some  of  the  young  soldier-like 
men,  after  the  fight,  went  about  shouting  '  cheer s  for  the 
the  flag  of  Maccabees  and  the  maid  of  Bozrah  !  '  They 
say  the  '  maid  of  Bozrah  '  means  you.  What  do  they 
intend  ?  " 

Miriamne  seemed  not  to  hear  the  question.  She  was 
engrossed  with  her  own  thoughts  and  thus  was  meditat 
ing  :  "  It's  just  as  the  Old  Clock  Man  said  !  The  Druses 
by  their  needed  aid  prove  it ;  the  Jews  need  a  Saviour  !  " 

"  Boys,"  presently  questioned  Rizpah,  "Were  many 
of  the  heretics  killed?" 

"  Oh,  ever  so  many !  Yes,  and  we  want  cloths  for 
the  wounded,"  said  the  questioned  lads. 

"  Now,  may  the  alien  dead  rot !  " 

"But  we  must  bring  cloths." 

"Who  says  it?" 

"  The  'Old  Clock  Man  '  told  every  body  to  help  the 
hurt." 

"And  who,  pray,  is  this  '  Old  Clock  Man  ?"' 

Rizpah  was  quickly  answered  by  Miriamne. 

"  I  know  him,  mother.  He's  the  leader  of  the 
Christians  here,  and  a  wondrously  good  old  man  who 
heals  the  sick,  feeds  the  poor,  teaches  the  ignorant  and 
gives  the  true  time  of  day  to  every  body  by  the  bell  of 
his  religious  house  !  " 

The  mother  fixed  her  eyes  penetratingly  upon  Miri' 
amne  for  a  moment,  then  frigidly  questioned: 


2/4  The  Queen  of  tJie  House  of  David. 

"And  since  them  hast  disobeyed  me  in  making  the 
acquaintance  of  a  stranger,  thou  wilt  now  explain  why 
thou  hast  never  mentioned  to  me  this  '  Old  Clock 
Man'  of  whom  thou  dost  seem  to  know  so  much! 
Who  is  he?  " 

"  Why,  he's  the  '  Old  Clock  Man  '  who  mends  poor 
people's  clocks,  plays  with  the  children  and  is  doing 
every  body  kindness  !  " 

"  Some  Christian  witchery  !  " 

"  Oh,  mother,  he's  an  angel  if  ever  there  was  one  on 
earth  !  " 

"  Is  he  a  Jew?"  almost  hissed  Rizpah. 

"  I've  forgotten  to  ask  about  that  ;  but  I'm  cer 
tain  he  is,  if  only  Jews  are  good,  for  he  is  a  saint 
of  God." 

Rizpah's  face  wore  a  sneer  as  she  again  spoke : 
"  How  canst  thou  tell,  Inexperience  ?  " 

"  By  acts.  He  goes  nbout  seeking  poor  people  to 
clothe  and  feed,  and  ne  is  their  physician  as  well,  and 
will  take  no  pay." 

"Some  Christian  perverter,  trying  to  seduce  the 
unthinking  by  pretended  service.  Beware  of  such, 
Miriamne !  " 

4<  But  healing  the  sick  and  setting  people's  clocks 
right  can't  do  harm!  I'm  certain  of  that?" 

"  How  sly;  he  would  set  all  Jewry  to  Christian  time 
and  faith  at  the  same  instant !  " 

"  I  love  his  way,  mother  ;  it  is  so  good ;  more  I  do 
not  know." 

"  The  old  knave  !  " 

"  Oh !  mother,  he  is  old,  but  no  knave.  Ought  we 
not  to  be  reverent  to  the  hoary  head  in  the  way  of  right 
eousness?" 


The  Queen  Proclaimed  in  the  Giant  City.        275 

"Yet  an  old  man  may  poison  women  and  children. 
I  told  thee  the  story  of  Agag  once,  daughter." 

"  Yes." 

"  I  mean  now  to  tell  thee  if  this  man  be  not  a  Jew} 
let  him  be  like  Agag,  hewn  to  pieces.  Flee  him  as  a 
leper." 

"He  don't  talk  so.  He  says  all  mankind  are  broth 
ers.  Only  to-day,  he  cried,  to  the  men  in  the  begin 
ning  of  the  fight,  '  save  your  families  as  best  you  may/ 
kill  the  wounded  Moslem  with  kindness !  "  The  rapid 
converse  of  the  two  women  was  interrupted  by  the  im 
patient  cry  of  the  boys  for  wraps  and  lint.  As  they 
started  away,  Miriamne  darted  after  them,  saying  :  "  I'll 
go  and  help  those  caring  for  the  wounded." 

"  Wayward  "  called  after  her  the  mother,  "  remember 
my  commands.  Keep  away  from  the  old  Perverter, 
and  minister  to  suffering  Israelites,  only.  God  can 
spare  the  rest  !  Let  them  die." 

In  the  midst  of  the  suffering  ones,  Miriamne  soon 
found  herself,  and  as  might  be  expected ;  there,  too» 
was  the  "  Old  Clock  Man."  As  they  met  he  said, 
laconically,  "  It  is  fitting  that  woman's  tender  hands 
minister  thus." 

"  Thanks,"  was  her  reply. 

Presently  Miriamne  questions,  with  an  unaffected 
diffidence,  her  companion. 

"  Will  you  tell  me  your  name  ?  " 

"Call    me  father,  that's  enough." 

"  Ah  !  but  I  can  not,  you  are  not  my  father."' 

"I  may  be." 

"  What  jest  is  this !     I've  a  father  living  ?  " 

"  I  am  father  to  multitudes,  but  after  the  flesh,  child 
less," 


276  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  Oh,  thy  children  are  dead,  then  ?  " 

"  Nay,  some  dead  and  some  living  •,  but,  living  or 
dead,  they  are  my  children." 

"  This  is  a  wilderment  to  me.     Where  is  your  wife  ?  " 

"  Everywhere.  In  early  youth,  with  vows  unuttera 
ble,  I  wed  my  church.  She  is  Humanity's  mother,  and 
I  the  father  of  all  of  her  children,  who  will  let  me  serve 
them." 

"  And  is  this  the  Christian  faith  ?  " 

"  It  is  mine,  anyway." 

"  I  like  it.  I'm  sure  it  must  be  safe  ;  being  so  good, 
and  so  you  may  be  my  father  that  way.  Are  ihere 
many  fathers  like  you  ?  " 

"  Many,  and  many  needed,  else  sin  will  make  all  or 
phans." 

"  And  you  have  no  wife,  no  home  ?  " 

"A  home  most  beautiful,  which,  at  sunset,  I'll  enter 
through  a  door,  once  shut,  not  possible  to  be  opened 
by  my  hands,  though  its  fastenings  be  but  grass  and 
daisies." 

"You  mean  death?"  As  she  said  it,  tears  welled 
in  Miriamne's  eyes. 

"  Weep  not,  my  child,  death  is  beautiful,  at  least 
to  me." 

"  OR,  good  man — father.  I  do  not  yet  know  how  to 
think  about  you  or  these  things  that  you  say.  What 
made  you  so  different  from  the  people  I  know?  " 

"  A  woman,  a  lovely  woman." 

"  Your  mother?  " 

"  Not  as  you  think." 

"  Oh,  then  pardon  my  curiosity.  You  had  some 
love  ?  " 

"  Thou  hast  said  it." 


The  Queen  Proclaimed  in  the  Giant  City.        277 

"  Why  did  you  not  wed  her  ?     Did  she  die  ?  '" 

11  A  woman's  question  ?     I'll  tell  thee  all  some  other 

time.     I  hear  approaching  voices." 

"  Tell  me  just  a  little  more  now  ;   do  ?  " 

"Are  the  wounded    all   attended  properly?     Mercy 

first,  stories  and  sermons  after." 

"  Ah,    here  come  my  brothers.     I'll  inquire  ;  "    and 

away  ran  Miriamne    to   a   group  of   youths,  singing  a 

roundelay,  of  which  she  caught  but  a  few  lines ; 

"Jew  and  Gentile,  Christian,  Turk, 
Equally  shall  share  our  work. 

For  Adolphus'  good 

We'd  shed  our  blood, 
For  we  have  joined  the  balsam  band, 
To  cure  all  troubles  in  our  land. 

We  love  the  man, 

We  love  the  band. 
We  love  the  brothers  of  our  balsam  band." 

Miriamne  comprehended  the  situation  in  a  moment, 
and  all  radiant  with  smiles,  bounded  to  the  side  of  her 
aged  friend,  crying :  "  Father,  oh,  you've  a  bonny  fam. 
ily  coming;  over  fifty  youths  and  maidens  ;  some  Jews, 
some  Gentiles.  They've  been  comforting  the  wound 
ed  and  now  have  spontaneously  formed  some  sort  of 
friendly  guild. 

"  That's  praiseworthy  so  far,"  the  saintly  man  replied. 

"  And  don't  blush  ;  when  I  asked  the  leader  what 
were  their  purposes  and  name,  a  dozen  cried  out  at 
once  ;  '  We're  Father  Adolphus's  angels  of  mercy  ?  ' ' 

"They  could  easily  have  found  a  better  title,  but 
youth  in  its  frank  celerity  interprets  human  need.  We 
ail  must  have  a  pattern  or  hero.  That's  the  reason  there 
are  pagans;  not  finding  the  true  God, some  invent  one. 
Anyway,  God  blesses  the  merciful." 


278  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"Oh,  these  angels  are  splendid  ;  so  earnest ;  so  happy ; 
so  every  thing  good !  They  all  wear  balsam-twig 
crowns,  and  are  singing  improvised  ditties  about  chanty 
and  humanity,  and  such  like." 

"  Praised   be  God    if   they    mean    them,   daughter." 

"  Mean  them  ?  Why  they'll  make  the  ancients  groan 
if  they  go  to  the  crossways  with  their  enthusiastic  sing 
ing.  '  Black-frowns  ! '  if  they  disturb  the  Passover  sol 
emnities,  won't  there  be  trouble? 

"And  Bozrah  will  never  understand  the  meaning  of 
the  ceremonial,  the  phantom  of  which  meaning  some 
to-day  are  pursuing,  until  it  beholds  sweet  charity 
sincerely  applied,  rising  with  healing  and  life  in  its 
wings  to  pass  over  savingly  where  humanity  has  pains 
and  death." 

The  old  priest  looked  away  toward  Jerusalem,  as  he 
spoke — his  voice  meanwhile  becoming  very  tender, 
almost  tremulous.  Had  one  been  able  to  enter  his 
heart,  there  would  have  been  seen  a  memory  picture  of 
Calvary.  Miriamne  was  awed  for  a  few  moments  ;  the 
old  man  was  lost  in  thought ;  presently  she  recalled  his 
attention  :  "  Father,  the  band  is  just  at  hand.  Shall  I 
introduce  you  ?" 

"  It  is  needless ;  I  formed  that  Band  of  Charity, 
though  I  gave  them  not  the  name ;  most  all  except 
the  recruits  of  to-day  know  me." 

The  singers  went  by,  saluting  the  priest  as  they 
passed  ;  obeying  his  signal  to  them  not  to  tarry. 

Miriamne  turned  to  her  comrade  with  quickened  con 
fidence,  and  with  her  usual  impetuosity  exclaimed : 

•'  I  want  to  be  what  you  like.  Make  me  a  Balsam- 
ite  !  " 

"  Thou  hast  a  mother  who  might  object." 


The  Queen  Proclaimed  in  the  Giant  City.        279 

"Oh,  no,  no;  not  if  she  knew  all,  as  do  I.': 
"Some  have  called  my  work  witchcraft." 
"  I   don't   care,  since   I   know   better.     Make  me  a 
Balsamite,  now,  please?" 

"  So  be  it,  child.  Put  thy  hand  on  thy  heart  and 
repeat :  '  I  promise  my  Merciful  Fatlier  always  to  show 
heartfelt  kindness  to  all  His  creatures,  especially  those  in 
misery,  because  of  His  everlasting  goodness  toward  my 
self 

"  I  promise  that  gladly.     Is  that  all  ?  " 
"  Yes ;  thy   badge,  a  sprig  of    the  evergreen  balm* 
shrub,  shall  teach  thee  the  rest." 
"  Teach  me  the  rest  ?  " 

"Puzzled  again,  child?  Well,  I'll  teach  thee,  and 
the  shrub  shall  recall  my  lessons.  As  thou  dost 
learn  to  love  nature,  as  thou  wilt  when  getting  back 
to  a  more  child-like  faith,  nature  will  talk  to  thee 
all  the  time.  See,  this  is  unfading;  so  is  mercy. 
When  torrid  suns  make  the  shrub  suffer,  it  sweats  or 
weeps  these  healing  gums.  Trials  make  all  good  souls 
fruitful.  Then  see,  this  little  shrub  gives  to  the  world 
all  it  receives,  transforming  its  earthy  nourishments, 
sunshines  and  showers,  into  a  medicament  for  sufferers. 
It  is  a  type  of  the  All-Giver.  It  has  but  three  flowers, 
and  I  read  in  these  the  signature  of  a  Triune  God. 
This  thou  wilt,  perhaps,  read  some  time  for  thyself, 
when  thou  hast  learned  the  mystery  of  the  Unspeaka 
ble  Gift." 

"  My  father,  your  wisdom  is  very  beautiful." 
"  Would,  my  child,  that   my  words   ever  be  to  thee 
as  the   nuts  of  this   little  evergreen   emblem,  though 
rough-coated,  still  filled  with  liquid   of  honey  sweet 
ness." 


280  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

The  maiden  yearned  to  embrace  the  priest.  Had 
she  done  so,  her  feelings  would  have  been  like  those 
of  a  daughter  toward  a  father,  or  a  devotee  toward 
God.  She  yearned  to  express  love  for  father.  The 
fountain  of  that  affection,  hitherto  unevoked,  was  full. 
But  she  restrained  herself,  and  said,  as  she  clasped  the 
old  man's  arm  :  "  May  I  be  crowned?  " 

"  Yes,  daughter ;  having  served  the  bleeding  as  thou 
didst  to-day,  thou  mayst."  The  priest  twined  together 
some  of  the  balsam  bows  and  placed  them  upon  her 
brow.  "  I  saw  once,  at  Damascus,  a  painted  present 
ment  of  the  mother  of  our  Lord,  on  wood,  from  which, 
continuously,  there  exuded  a  precious  nard,  of  all 
healing  virtue.  So  they  said,  at  least ;  and  more  than 
this,  I  was  assured  it  had  power  to  heal  even  the 
wounds  of  infidels." 

"  Is  this  really  so?" 

"  I  believe  a  Christian  kindness  to  an  unbeliever  a 
medicine  to  the  soul  of  the  blesser  and  blest.  That's 
why  I'm  merciful  to  Moslem." 

"But  you  court  dangers,  do  you  not?  I  remember 
your  telling  me  once,  that  fanatics,  or  men  with  a  false 
religion,  falsely  practiced,  were  like  mad  dogs — one 
could  never  tell  when  they  might  bite  the  kindest 
master." 

"  True,  some  forgetting  the  essence  of  all  religion 
worth  the  name,  Charity,  to  propagate  their  theories, 
easily  befool  their  consciences  and  murder  gratitude. 
But  ingratitude  is  a  Christian  and  Jewish,  as  well  as  a 
heathen  fault.  In  this  all  are  alike.  Still,  though  a 
man  spoil  all  the  good  I  try  to  do  him,  there's  one 
thing  he  can  not  spoil." 

"And  that  is  what?" 


77/e  Queen  Proclaimed  in  the  Giant  City.        281 

•'  The  bird  of  sunny  plummage  that  sings  in  my 
heart  because  of  the  good  I  attempt.  I  met  a 
French  pilgrim,  a  while  ago,  who  spent  his  time  mostly 
in  helping,  as  he  could,  to  make  the  Mohammedan 
children  he  met,  happy.  He  sang  to  them,  gave  them 
presents,  acted  as  umpire  in  their  sports,  and  if  one  got 
hurt  he  mothered  it — (that's  what  he  called  his  tender, 
odd  ways).  Some  called  him  wrong  in  his  head,  but 
when  I  knew  him  I  believed  that  one  sane,  amid  thou 
sands  crazed." 

"  Who  and  what  was  he  ?  " 

"  I  asked  him,  and  for  reply  got  only  this :  '  I'm 
Melchisedec,  a  priest  of  the  wayside,  seeking  to  win 
silver  hands,  silver  feet,  and  crown  jewels.' ' 

"  Well,  he  would  have  frightened  me,  if  I'd  met  him 
speaking  that  way  and  in  such  moods?" 

"  Oh,  no  ;  he  was  not  frightful ;  he  seemed  to  attract 
even  the  birds,  and  the  ownerless  curs  ran  to  him  when 
others  spurned  them  He  once,  when  sick,  told  me 
that  he  came  from  Toul,  in  Lorraine,  where  was  en 
shrined  an  image  of  Madonna  with  a  silver  foot.  He 
believed  that  tradition,  which  declared  that  that  pre 
sentment  of  Mary  gave  a  sign  by  taking  a  step,  on  a 
certain  time,  which  warned  some  of  great  impending 
danger,  and  thereupon  the  member  was  changed  to  the 
precious  metal." 

"  It's  a  pretty  story." 

"  At  least  the  lesson  is  honey-like.  No  being  can 
strive  to  help  another  without  finding  the  All-Shining 
often  in  his  own  soul.  So  our  crowns  are  made." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
THE    QUEEN'S    CHILDHOOD. 

•*  Now  raise  thy  view, 
Unto  the  vision  most  resembling  Christ's." 

—DANTE. 

Fear  not,  Mary,  for  thou  hast  found  favor  with  God.'' 

— GABRIEL. 

IRIAMNE,  all  aglow  with  pleasurable  ex 
citement  and  filled  with  a  curiosity  which 
at  times  rose  to  very  serious  questioning 
as  to  her  own  faith,  anxiously  sought  to 
compass  an  early  meeting  with  the  "Old  Clock  Man." 
She  could  not  content  herself  to  wait  a  chance  oppor 
tunity,  and  so,  remembering  that  it  was  his  custom  at 
evening  time  to  visit,  alone,  for  meditation  various  old 
ruins  like  those  of  the  Reservoir,  she  determined  to 
seek  him  there;  it  being  not  very  far  from  her  home. 
With  beating  heart  she  repaired  thither  at  sunset,  the 
day  after  the  Mameluke  attack.  Having  traversed  the 
Reservoir's  side  some  two  or  three  hundred  feet,  she 
was  on  the  point  of  returning,  for  the  place  was  very 
lonely,  when  a  voice  startled  her. 

"Oh,  Father  Adolphus,  how  you  frighten  me!  I'm 
so  glad  you  came  !  " 

"Looking  for  me,  yet  frightened  at  finding  me. 
Glad  I  came,  though  I  scared  you?" 

"Well,  men  and  women  when  frightened  are  glad  or 
the  fellowship  of  any  thing  seemingly  strong.  It's 
easy  for  the  terrified  to  believe  or  trust." 


THE     EDUCATION     OK     MARY. 


The  Queen  s  Childhood.  283 

"There's  rare  philosophy  in  thy  head,  little  woman." 
"  So?     What  were  you  saying  when  I  startled  so?  " 
"That   the   silvering  of   the   moon  brought  out  thy 
person  beautifully.     So  she  that  sits  above  the  moon,  a 
queen    in    heaven,  would    beautify    thy    soul    if   thou 
shouldst  elect  to  put  on  the  character  she  ever  wore." 
''I  can't  do  that,  knowing  so  little  of  her." 
"A  woman's  way  of  saying,  tell  me  more." 
"You  would  not  torment  your  Mary  with  such  rep- 
artee." 

"Woman  again.     Art  thou  jealous  already?" 
"Fie." 

"  Say  that  again  !  Once  the  foil  of  one  of  thy  sex 
is  penetrated,  not  having  arguments,  she  can  at  least 
say 'fie'!  Well,  even  ducklings  hiss  when  helplessly 
entangled." 

'•  Adolphus  Von  Gombard,  I'll  not  call  you  'father' 
again,  if  you  approach  me  any  more  in  this  courtier 
fashion." 

"  Again,  I  say,  an  old  head  ;  but  I'd  plead  privilege." 
"At  least  old  enough  to  discern  the  sacred  line  that 
bounds  all  proper  commerce  between  the  sexes.  You 
plead  privilege  ;  I  grant  you  the  noblest  any  woman 
can  give,  the  privilege  of  guiding  my  immortal  soul ; 
but  I  remember  to  have  heard  that  he  who  would  shep 
herd  such  as  I,  must  be  to  her  as  a  woman.  The  rela 
tionship  between  us  must  be  as  that  between  the 
angels  of  heaven  who  neither  marry  nor  are  given  in 
marriage." 

"  Some  young  women  receive  teachings  most  will 
ingly  from  fine-favored  and  patronizing  instructors." 

"  I  know  it ;  but  let  none  patronize  me  so.  I've  be 
gun  to  adore  the  Sacrist  of  Bozrah,  but  if  a  breath  or 


284  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

word  passes  that  makes  me  think  of  him  chiefly  as 
being  a  man,  then  I  shall  sit  in  his  presence  in  fright, 
or  flee  as  I  would  were  I  to  find  the  place  changed  into 
a  lonely  night-draped  waddy,  my  only  company  an 
image  of  some  leering,  giant  Bacchus.  But  this  un 
equal  defence  is  painful." 

"  Then  desist  and  tell  me  what  I'm  to  do." 

"You  have  been  my  ideal  man,  for  heaven's  sake  rob 
me  not  by  changing  !  " 

"  Right  nobly  spoken,  daughter.  Now  pardon  me, 
for  I  was  putting  thee  to  a  test." 

"A  test?" 

"Yes.  It's  forbidden,  by  customs  hereabout,  for 
man  and  woman,  as  we,  alone  to  converse  face  to  face; 
perhaps  wisely,  if  one  be  bad  and  the  other  weak. 
Yet  the  cusfom  is  heathenish — low  moral  tone  engen 
dering  mighty  suspicions  !  " 

"  Did  my  priest  think  me  a  heathen  ?  " 

"  No,  not  that ;  but  they  say  the  moon  makes  lovers 
and  others  mad.  I  was  wondering  whether  I  was  deal 
ing  with  a  bundle  of  romancings  or  an  earnest  girl?" 

Delicately  the  maiden  avoided  the  query  with 
another: 

"You  loved  Mary;  why  did  you  not  wed  her?" 

"  Woman  again  ;  doomed  to  make  all  vistas  end  in 
wedlock.  With  your  sex  love,  beginning  to  give,  gives 
all  readily,  and  seems  to  find  no  rest  until  there's  con 
jugal  union." 

"  I  have  not  desired  to  give  all  that  way  to  those 
I've  loved!" 

"  It  is  all  or  nothing.  Ye  women  love  only  relatives, 
and  never  cease  to  desire  to  make  all  relatives  whom 
ye  want  to  love.  Why,  girl,  my  Mary  is  a  sain'i ;  she 


The  Queen  s  Childhood.  285 

died  ages  ago,  after  the  flesh  ;  but  as  a  model  for  all 
womankind  lives  forever." 

"  How  was  she  your  Mary,  then?" 

"  She  belongs  to  every  noble  minded  man  as  his 
inspirer." 

"  Mary — you  call  her  Mary.  I  thought  all  the  holy 
and  the  great  had  uncommon  names?" 

"  In  fiction  they  do;  in  reality  the  name  is  nothing." 

"  Was  she  wise  and  beautiful?  " 

"  One  of  our  most  holy  teachers,  Epiphanius,  who 
lived  less  than  four  hundred  years  after  Mary,  spent 
many  years  at  Bethlehem  and  gathered  facts  that 
caused  him  thus  to  write.  '  She  was  of  middle  stature, 
her  face  oval,  her  eyes  brilliant  and  of  an  olive  tint  ; 
her  eyebrows  arched  and  black,  her  hair  a  pale  brown, 
her  complexion  fair  as  wheat.  She  spoke  little,  but  she 
spoke  freely  and  affably.  She  was  grave,  courteous, 
tranquil.  In  her  deportment  was  nothing  lax  or  feeble.' 
Saint  Denis,  the  Areopagite,  who  is  said  to  have  seen 
this  queen  of  David's  house  in  her  lifetime,  declared 
that  she  was  'a  dazzling  beauty,'  that  he  'would  have 
adored  her  as  a  goddess  had  he  not  known  that  there  was 
but  one  God!'  Of  this  much  I'm  certain,  my  Bozrah 
Miriamne,  one  so  serene  of  character,  and  so  pure, 
must  have  reflected  her  inner,  imperishable  beauties  in 
her  features." 

"  Father  Adolphus,  you  mention  strange  names. 
There  are  none  that  sound  like  those  revered  by  my 
people.  Do  you  ever  hate  my  race?  If  you  do  you 
must  not  teach  me  any  doctrine." 

"  Hate?  Why,  I  love  all  peoples,  and  by  faith  I  am 
made  a  child  of  Abraham." 

"  Then  you  are  a  proselyte  ?  " 


286  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  Not  by  any  forms.  I  believe  in  the  God  of  Abra 
ham  and  His  Messiah.  That  makes  me  a  perfect  Jew." 

•'  This  is  strange.  My  mother  never  unfolded  it  to 
me." 

"Ah,  she  has  not  yet  looked  into  these  royal  mys 
teries  ?  " 

"But,  good  father,  is  your  name  among  our  chronol 
ogies?" 

"  Thanks  to  the  God  of  the  Patriarchs,  yes ;  it  is 
with  that  of  Moses,  David,  Elijah,  and  all  the  rest,  in 
the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life." 

"Where?" 

"  In  Heaven." 

"  How  wonderful;  yet  I'm  afraid  to  hear  more." 

"Shall  I  take  thee  home?" 

"  No ;  tell  me  more  of  Mary.  You  say  she  made 
you  lonely  and  a  father  ?  " 

"  I  must  then  begin  her  history,  and  show  thee  how 
and  why  she  lived?" 

"  Do  you  think  it  will  tire  me?  " 

j<  Fear  not !  Her  story  is  a  poem,  a  picture,  a  trag 
edy  ;  it's  one  long  delight." 

"Then  tell  it  to  me,  I  pray  you." 

So  the  priest  proceeded  : 

"  When  the  world  was  very  wicked,  and  therefore 
very  sad,  God  in  His  goodness  was  drawn  to  send  from 
heaven  a  light-bearer — some  one  to  tell  man  his  duty 
and  able  to  win  back  to  the  Great  Father  mankind's 
straying  affections.  Thou  dost  know  this  much,  and 
hast  read  in  thy  sacred  Scriptures  how  God  called  to 
the  universe,  all  chaotic  and  dark,  to  come  forth  into 
beautiful  form  ;  how  he  said  to  the  darkness, '  Let  tJiere 
be  light'  That  history  bears  within  it  a  fine  sermon. 


The  Queen  s  Childhood.  287 

it's  a  picture  of  God's.  Out  of  sin,  darkness,  confu 
sion,  there  emerged  a  perfect  man  in  a  Paradisiacal 
home,  with  a  perfect,  beautiful  woman  as  a  help-mate 
by  his  side.  That  was  God's  ideal  of  perfection  and 
happiness.  It  delighted  the  Father  of  Joys  to  make 
it.  This  is  ever  true  ;  behind  all  clouds  in  God's  Provi 
dence  is  sunshine,  and  beyond  all  disorders  somewhere 
at  last  will  walk  forth  unalloyed  pleasure,  a  Sabbath- 
like  rest,  and  fullness  of  harmony." 

"  Oh,  can  you  make  me  believe  and  feel  this?" 

"  Wait  patiently." 

"  I  try  to  do  so;  but  I'm  discouraged  by  the  present 
miseries  in  my  family  and  in  all  our  nation." 

"  God  mourns  over  all  our  sorrows  before  they  or  we 
are  born,  but  His  wisdom  and  power  of  cure  are  fault 
less.  Wait.  Times  are  mending,  and  the  moral  sphere 
is  dipping  into  the  rim  of  light's  oceans.  I  think  the 
angels  perceive  the  world  now,  as  thou  perceivest  the 
new  moon." 

"  The  poetry  of  the  words  I  can  not  interpret." 

"  The  moon's  a  dark  globe,  with  a  ribbon  of  silver 
across  it." 

"  And  things  have  been  worse  ;  now  are  bettering?" 

"Assuredly  so.  Believe  there  is  a  God,  and  thou'lt 
rest  in  hope.  Go  back  a  little  in  history  to  when  Caesar 
Augustus,  of  awful  pagan  Rome,  ruled  the  world,  hav 
ing  won  dominion  through  desolating  wars.  The 
most  educated  Romans  then  believed  in  no  hereafter, 
and  sought  openly,  without  restraint,  the  grossest 
pleasures.  The  ignorant  believed  in  fabled  monstrosi 
ties.  Rome  set  the  fashions  of  all  the  world.  The 
Jews,  thy  people,  God's  people,  were  lower,  morally, 
then,  than  ever  they  had  been  before.  They  were 


288  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

divided  into  warring  families  and  sects,  holding  a  few 
forms  and  traditions,  but  having  little  heart  in  religion. 
The  rest  of  mankind  was  barbarous.  Thou  hast  heard 
how  the  Roman  Titus  overthrew  Jerusalem,  slaughter 
ing  thy  people  by  thousands,  defiling  their  holy  Temple 
and  seeming  to  blot  out  nearly  the  whole  of  thy  race. 
That  time  of  Titus  was  midnight ;  since  that  the  day 
has  been  slowly  advancing.  Before  that  awful  culmi 
nation  of  sorrows,  the  Divine  Trinity  held  august 
council,  and,  as  say  the  traditions  of  my  church,  deter 
mined  to  bring  a  holy  sunrise  to  the  earth's  midnight. 
The  trouble  of  all  creation  was  that  man  had  fallen. 
The  Divine  Council  decreed  to  confound  the  devil,  who 
broke  up  the  first  home  and  ruined  the  first  pure  pair 
by  causing  to  emerge  from  another  home,  another  pair. 
They  came,  this  time  mother  and  Son,  to  be  the  moral 
patterns  for  the  race,  the  beginning  of  a  new,  sin-con 
quering  dispensation.  The  fathers  hand  down  these 
sayings  :  '  The  august,  regal  Triune  Council  thus  de 
creed  :  "  Let  us  make  a  pure  creature,  dearer  to  us  than 
all  others."  They  say  she  was  begotten  upon  the  Sab 
bath,  the  birth-day  of  the  angels,  whose  queen  she 
was  to  be.  Then  one  thousand  of  the  ministering 
spirits  were  commissioned  to  defend  her;  while  Gabriel 
was  sent  to  announce  the  glad  tidings  of  the  birth  of  a 
Saviour's  mother,  in  Hades.  Her  angels  appeared  as 
young  men,  of  majestic  mien,  of  marvelous  beauty  and 
pure  as  crystals.  Their  garments  were  like  gold,  richly 
colored,  and  could  not  be  touched  any  more  than  could 
be  the  light  of  the  sun." 

"How  charming!  But  is  this  all  true?"  exclaimed 
the  maiden. 

Without  reply,  the  priest  continued :  "  They  were 


The  Queen  s  Childhood.  289 

crowned  with  diadems,  exhaling  celestial  perfumes;  in 
their  hands  they  bore  interwoven  palms  ;  on  their  arms 
and  breasts  were  crosses  and  military  devices.  They 
were  swift  of  flight,  some  of  them  six-winged,  like  the 
angels  of  Isaiah's  vision." 

"How  dazzling!  But  is  this  all  true?"  Miriamne 
persisted. 

"  Well,  it's  not  in  thy  sacred  books  nor  in  mine  so 
written." 

"  Then  you  are  giving  me  your  imaginings?" 

"  Oh,  no  ;  but  after  the  manner  I  have  spoken,  it  is 
recorded  in  revered  traditions  of  my  church,  and  none 
can  very  well  disprove  the  sayings." 

"I  wonder  if  such  honors  made  Mary  proud?" 

"  A  strange  query." 

"  I'd  like  to  love  one  such  as  she,  but  could  not  if  she 
were  haughty  or  lofty,  like  the  great  of  earth." 

"  It  would  have  made  such  as  thou  proud,  perhaps; 
but  there  was  none  of  the  serpent  in  her  whose  Off 
spring  was  to  crush  the  serpent's  head." 

"  Is  there  any  of  the  serpent  in  me?  " 

"  I'm  not  thy  judge." 

"Then  she  was  immaculate?  " 

"  Ah,  that's  a  question  for  the  doctors.  I'm  too 
simple  to  know  beyond  what  is  written.  I'm  glad  to 
know  that  she  rejoiced  in  her  son,  as  a  God  and  a  Sa~ 
viour  !  " — "  She  was  of  noble  family,  though  her  parents 
were  poor,"  the  priest  continued.  "  Her  mother  was 
by  name  Anna,  and  worthy  of  the  name,  which  is  by 
interpretation  'gracious!  Traditions  of  her  goodness 
are  many,  and  the  good  and  great  have  honored  her 
memory.  I  paid  Anna  homage,  that  of  a  youth  respect 
ful  of  worthy  motherhood,  at  Constantinople,  in  a 


290  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

church  erected  in  the  year  710  to  commemorate  that 
saint.  Among  others,  also  Justinian,  the  Emperor, 
in  the  year  550,  dedicated  a  sacred  place  to  Mary's 
mother." 

"Then  she  had  her  meed  of  praise,  at  last?" 

"  Tradition,  though  tardy,  has  been  just ;  but  I  trust 
not  tradition  alone.  I  easily  reason  that  there  must 
have  been  much  of  goodness  and  womanly  beauty  in 
the  mother  that  bore  such  a  woman  as  Mary.  I  know 
that  God  can  bring  forth  angels  from  the  offscourings, 
but  that  is  not  His  way.  He  works  by  steps  upward. 
I  tell  thee,  girl,  the  mother  gives  her  life  to  her  off- 
spring,  and  in  spite  of  training,  almost  in  spite  of 
regeneration,  the  characteristics  of  this  parent  will 
reappear  in  the  child.  But  to  my  story  about  Mary's 
parents,  Jehoikim  and  Anna. 

"  Blessed  be  God,  Anna  and  Jehoikim  were  un 
tainted  by  the  pride  of  life,  and,  though  living  in  a 
time  of  loose  morals,  walked  lovingly,  constantly  with 
each  other,  through  all  their  days.  I  talk  to  thee  as 
to  a  prudent,  but  not  prudish,  young  woman.  Society 
is  well  rotted  when  divorce  is  about  as  common  as 
marriage ;  it  was  that  way  in  Anna  and  Jehoikim's 
time.  Why,  even  the  exacting  Pharisees  then  taught 
that  a  man  might  divorce  a  wife  who  had  lost  her  per 
sonal  beauty,  or  badly  cooked  her  husband's  meat.  Jeho 
ikim  might  have  left  Anna,  for  she  was  childless;  that 
was  reason  enough  for  divorcement  to  tl?£  average  Jew, 
then.  But  their  love  was  beautiful.  The  man,  as  was 
his  duty,  clung  tenderly  to  his  wife;  her  misfortune 
making  her  all  the  more  in  need  of  his  tenderness. 
Dost  thou  not  think  so?" 

"  I  suppose  so.     I  don't  know." 


The  Queen's  Childhood.  291 

"Pardon  my  earnestness;  it  made  me  forget  thy 
inexperience ! 

"  Well,  God  rewarded  their  constancy,  and  they 
became  the  parents  of  my  Mary.  The  father  had  a 
noble  ancestry;  but,  what  is  better,  within  himself  a 
royal  heart.  He  bore  by  right  the  priestly  office  ;  but 
that  was  not  much  to  such  a  man,  in  respect  to  worldly 
gain.  Honest  priests  in  his  time  were  generally  poor ; 
the  priestly  preferments  went,  most  richly  laden,  to 
those  who  dealt  corruptly,  and  truckled  to  the  ruling 
powers.  Mary's  father  was  above  sordidness  and  sin> 
ony.  He  had  little  to  give  or  to  leave  to  his  beloved, 
but  he  left  his  child  a  good  name  and  the  remem 
brance  of  the  blessed.  So  while  God  chose  the  humble 
to  confound  the  mighty,  and  serenely  exalted  those  of 
low  estate,  He  was  mindful  to  choose  His  elect  from 
the  ranks  of  the  mort.lly  great.  Such  are  found  in  all 
places  and  times,  and  \vhen  surrounded,  as  were  these 
pious  parents,  by  the  gross,  low  and  selfish,  they  shine 
with  transcendent  spl<  ndor.  In  Tisri,  the  first  month 
of  the  Jewish  civic  y^  ir,  while  the  smoke  of  the  holo 
causts  were  ascending,  to  invite  heaven's  pardon,  Mary, 
who  was  to  bring  for'.h  the  world's  greatest  offering 
for  sin,  was  born  at  Nazareth.  Her  career  was  fore 
ordained,  and  she  was  soon  walking  her  course  of  piety 
and  sorrow.  Though  inexperienced  and  tender-hearted, 
sorrows  in  heaviest,  grimmest  forms  fell  upon  her. 
Her  father  died  when  she  was,  it  is  said,  only  nine 
years  of  age  ;  not  lorg  after,  the  girl  knelt,  a  mourner, 
by  the  bier  of  her  rr  other  ;  the  golden  hairs  of  youth 
mingling,  in  the  disheveling  of  utter  grief,  with  the 
gray,  which  crowned  the  queen  and  guide  of  her  heart, 
her  mother.  On  the  threshhold  of  her  life  Mary's 


292  The  Queen  of  tJie  House  of  David. 

parents  were  called  away  from  her,  leaving  her  no  hen- 
tage  but  their  precepts  and  example.  They  say  that 
Jehoikim's  hands  were  stretched  out,  as  in  benediction, 
when  he  died,  and  so  remained  until  his  burial,  remind 
ing  all  that  his  last  act  was  a  commendation  of  his 
little  daughter  to  Him  who  carries  the  lambs  in  his 
bosom  !  The  picture  of  these  outstretched  hands,  and 
of  the  girl  embracing  the  aged  dead  mother,  are  often 
in  my  mind ;  they  never  fail  to  deeply  move  me 
Poor  orphaned  lamb  !  " 

Miriamne  brushed  away  a  tear,  a  sort  of  self-pitying 
tear.  She  ran  forward  in  mind,  to  the  day  when  she, 
herself,  would  be  orphaned,  without  a  benediction,  or, 
perhaps,  a  cheering  memory.  Then  she  questioned  : 

"  Did  your  Mary  have  other  friends?" 

"Yea,  her  Heavenly  Father.  It  is  said,  also,  that 
she  was  cared  for  by  the  elders  of  the  people,  and  religi 
ously  trained  under  the  very  shadows  of  the  Temple. 
We  may  readily  believe  this;  for,  in  her  after  life,  she 
evinced  a  self-possession  in  adversity  that  witnessed  of 
a  thorough  religious  culture.  If  there  was  no  other 
evidence,  her  splendid  poem,  the  '  Magnificat'  would 
convince  any  seeking  proof,  that  Mary  had  had  sur 
passing  benefits  and  privileges  in  the  study  of  God's 
words,  as  well  as  in  the  best  learning  of  her  people, 
the  Jews.  But,  Miriamne,  I'll  weary  thee  ;  let  us  turn 
toward  thy  home."  Presently  they  stood  not  far  from 
the  old  stone  house  of  Rizpah  ;  then  Von  Gombard  drew 
from  under  his  mantle  a  roll  of  writings.  "  Here,  take 
and  read.  After  its  perusal  I'll  see  thee  again."  So 
saying,  the  old  priest  lifted  a  hand  in  blessing,  and 
then  moved  away  toward  his  abode. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE  WEDDING,  THE  BIRTH  AND  THE  FLIGHT 

"  Seraph  of  heaven  ;  too  gentle  to  be  human, 
Veiled  beneath  the  radiant  form  of  woman. 
Sweet  benediction  of  the  eternal  curse ; 
Veiled  glory  of  the  lampless  universe ! 
Thou  moon  beyond  the  clouds,  thou  living  form ; 

Thou  wonder  and  thou  Beauty 

Thou  harmony  of  nature's  art." 

—SHELLEY. 

"  Take  that  one  hour  at  Bethlehem  out  of  human  history,  and 
eighteen  centuries  of  hours  are  left  but  partially  explained." 

—PROF.   NEWMAN  SMYTH. 

HAT  so  engages  thee,  daughter?"  ques 
tioned  Rizpah,  as  they  sat  together  at  even 
ing  in  the  old  stone  house. 

"  I'm  reading  the  story  of  a  lovely  orphan 
girl.     I  wish  I  were,  in  heart,  as  lovely  as  she." 
"Was  she  a  white  citadel,  pure  and  strong?" 
"  Peerless,    indeed ;    the    very    queen    of    women,    I 
think." 

"  Oh,  then  thou  must  be  reading  of  glorious  Rizpah  ? 
Now  fill  me  with  this  matter!  I  thirst  to  hear." 

Miriamne,  though  fearful  of  further  exposing  her 
thoughts  and  study,  obeyed,  knowing  full  well  that 
nothing  would  so  stimulate  her  mother's  curiosity  as 
attempted  evasion. 

'*  I've  been  reading  of  the  orphan  girl's  marriage,, 
Shall  I  go  back,  or  continue  from  that  period?  Her 


294  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

name   was   Mary,    and  she   was  a  Jewess ;  that's  the 
sum  of  the  beginning." 

"  Go  forward,"  sententiously  replied  the  elder. 

Miriamne  complied : 

"  The  guardians  and  relatives  of  Mary  determined  that 
she  should  early  wed  some  proper  person  to  be  her  pro 
tector,  and  so,  according  to  Jewish  custom,  they  went  about 
the  selection  of  a  husband  for  her  as  soon  as  she  had 
reached  her  fourteenth  year.  This  selection  was  deemed 
a  pious  and  serious  duty  by  all  the  participants  therein  ; 
therefore  it  was  made  by  an  appeal  to  the  Lord  with  lots. 
Zacharias,  the  presiding  priest,  managed  the  proceeding, 
as  follows  :  He  first  inquired  God's  will  in  prayer.  An 
angel  brought  reply,  saying  :  '  Go  forth  ;  call  together 
all  the  widowers  among  the  people,  and  let  each  bring 
his  rod.' 

"  In  truth  here  is  refreshment !  If  all  weddings  were 
contrived  under  the  wisdom  of  older  heads,  there  would 
be  fewer  rnad  marriages."  Rizpah  swayed  back  and 
forth  as  she  spoke.  She  was  remembering,  now, 
the  curse  of  Harrimai  that  day  in  Gerash,  long 
years  before.  She  thought  him  a  monster  then,  but 
now  she  was  enshrining  him  in  mind  by  the  Angel  of 
the  Lots. 

"  Shall  I  go  on,  mother?  " 

"Goon." 

"  He  to  whom  the  Lord  shall  show  a  sign,  let  him 
be  husband  of  Mary,"  read  Miriamne. 

"Ah,  the  Lord  would  not  trust  the  youths  to  draw! 
He  knows  that  a  man  is  like  to  harass  the  life  out  of 
one  woman  before  he  learns  to  care  for  another  rightly. 
God  was  good  to  Mary  in  hedging  her  in  to  a  widower 
»f  needs  be  that  she  must  marry." 

Rizpah  did  not  sway  back  and  forth  now ;  she  sat 
';rect  and  laughed  bitterly. 


By  Raphael. 


THE     MARRIAGE     OF     MARY     AND    JOSEPH. 


The  Wedding,  the  Birth  and  the  Flight.         295 

Miriamne  continued  : 

"  There  were  many  splendid  youths  who  rejoiced  to  be 
permitted  to  bring  their  wands.' 

"  Oh,  ho  !  then  they  were  suffered  to  draw  for  the 
girl?  But  what  matter — the  Angel  of  Lots  presided! 
He'd  not  let  the  youths  succeed!"  Again  Rizpah 
laughed,  and  as  mockingly  as  before. 

Miriamne  again  read : 

"  After  praver  each  deposited  his  almond  tree  with  the 
aged  Temple  priest.  In  the  early  morning  they  anxiously 
sought  the  verdict.  It  was  found  that  all  the  rods  were 
dead,  except  that  of  Joseph, the  son  of  Jacob, the  son  of 
Mathan  ;  but  his  blossomed  as  that  which,  ages  before,  con 
firmed  miraculously  the  priesthood  of  Aaron's  sons.  Then 
there  appeared  another  miracle,  for  as  Joseph  reached  forth 
his  hand  to  take  his  blooming  branch,  there  issued  from 
among  its  luxurious  blossoms,  miraculously,  a  white  dove, 
dazzling  as  snow.  For  a  moment  the  dove  gracefully  sus 
pended  itself  in  the  air,  turning  its  eyes  from  one  to  another 
of  the  competitors ;  then  it  alighted  on  Joseph's  head. 
'Thou  art  the  person  chosen  to  take  the  Virgin  and  keep 
her  for  the  Lord,'  said  the  priest,  solemnly,  to  Joseph.  All 
the  rivals  responded  'Amen,'  and  then  the  dove  flew  away 
toward  heaven.  Joseph  was  thirty-three  years  old,  of  pleas 
ing  countenance,  very  modest,  graceful,  and  of  comely 
figure,  and  a  widower. 

"  When  all  was  told  to  Mary  she  modestly  replied  :  '  I 
knew  it,  for  the  Lord  has  been  with  me.'  Zacharias  told 
Mary  that  Joseph  was  a  true,  honest  Jew,  a  carpenter  by 
trade,  and  trained  by  a  father  who  fully  believed  the  adage 
of  Rabbins,  which  said  that  '  He  who  would  not  make  his 
son  a  robber  makes  him  a  mechanic.'  '  Besides  this,'  said 
the  Temple  priest,  '  thy  espoused  one  is  like  thyself,  of  the 
royal  house  of  David.  The  blood  of  twenty  kings  mingle 
in  the  veins  of  you  both.  God  grant  that  to  that  house  of 
David  there  soon  be  born  another,  greater  than  all  before, 
to  deliver  our  holy  nation  from  foreign  masters.'  Mary 
made  no  reply,  but  as  a  blush  of  hopefulness  passed  over 
her  face,  she  looked  very  earnestly  toward  heaven  and 


296  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

seemed  to  be  repeating  the  prayer  of  the  priest  to  the 
All  Father.  The  formal  betrothal  then  took  place.  Joseph 
presented  his  chosen  bride  a  small  token  of  silver,  saying  - 
'  If  thou  consentest  to  be  my  bride,  accept  this.'  She 
took  it,  smiling  affectionately,  and  then  the  witnesses  signed 
the  usual  Jewish  compact,  which  read  as  follows  : 

"  '  I  Joseph,  said  to  Mary,  daughter  of  Jehoiakim,  become 
my  wife  under  the  law  of  Moses  and  Israel.  I  promise  to 
honor  thee  ;  to  provide  for  thy  support  ;  thy  food  and  thy 
clothing  ;  according  to  the  custom  of  Hebrew  husbands, 
who  honor  their  wives,  as  is  befitting.  I  give  thee  at  once 
thy  dowry  and  promise  thee  besides  nourishment,  and 
clothing,  and  whatsoever  shail  be  necessary  for  thee,  also 
conjugal  friendship,  a  thing  common  to  all  nations  of  the 
world.  Mary  consents  to  become  the  wife  of  Joseph.'  The 
two  signed  the  document." 

"  See  Miriamne,  the  Jews  were  wise  ;  they  made  the 
husbands  do  most  of  the  promising.  They  knew  that 
the  wives  would  be  all  wifely  without  such  pledging." 
And  Rizpah  again  bitterly  laughed. 

"  Shall  I  proceed  ?" 

"  Yes,  oh,  proceed  ;  it's  a  Jewish  poem." 

"  Thereupon  Joseph  placed  a  jeweled  ring  upon  Mary's 
fourth  finger,  with  a  smile  and  a  blush,  saying,  the  '  physi 
cians  say,  my  beloved,  that  a  nerve  and  a  vein,  reaching  the 
heart  together,  lay  close  to  the  surface  of  that  finger.'  And 
she  understood  and  was  happy.  A  benediction  was  pro 
nounced,  and  then  the  espoused  pair  were  ready  to  depart 
to  Joseph's  house.  He  was  to  be  the  guardian  of  the  maiden 
from  that  hour  forth.  The  hereditary  servants  of  the  fami 
lies  took  up  the  line  of  march,  bearing  flaming  torches  ; 
immediately  after  these  followed  a  procession  of  women, 
richly  garbed  and  wearing  golden  tiaras  and  pearl  bedecked 
girdles.  Behind  these  attendants  of  the  virgin,  followed  a 
goodly  company  of  dexterous  musicians  and  singers,  dis 
coursing  rapturously  the  significant  canticles  of  Solomon. 
As  the  latter  went  on  from  time  to  time  they  broke  out  of  the 
line  of  march  and  disported  themselves  in  the  eastern  star- 
dance,  saying  as  they  did  so,  to  one  another,  '  the  morning 
stars  sang  at  creation  ;  the  dawn  of  a  new  home  coming  by 


The  Wedding,  the  Birth  and  the  Flight.         297 

love,  is  next  to  creation  the  most  joyous  of  all  events.'  So 
the  dancers  went  on,  and  as  they  rejoiced  in  poetic  motions, 
they  thought  of  the  stars  which  yet  tremble  as  if  with  the 
thrilling  of  that  first  delight  they  shouted.  Of  all,  the  sweet 
orphan  girl  now  companioned  was  the  center.  She  was  be 
decked  with  costly  jewels,  the  glad  tributes  of  those  that  loved 
her  ;  over  her  was  the  significant  veil,  and,  so  beneath  the 
wedding  canopy,  she  entered  Nazareth  to  be  a  wife.  Her  sky 
had  become  very  bright,  for  her's  was  a  heart  that  took 
exquisite  joy  from  the  honeyed  petals  of  affection's  flower. 
No  bride  ever  more  fully  entered  into  that  supreme  state, 
the  all  exalting,  entrancing,  expanding,  thrilling  period  of 
new  married  life.  She  went  forward  in  the  proud  con 
sciousness  that  her  weakness  had  overcome  a  giant,  and 
that  while  she  lead  a  royal  captive,  she  was  supremely  happy 
in  her  utter  bestowal  of  her  all  upon  the  one  only  man  now 
became  almost  next  to  God  in  the  temple  of  her  soul." 

Miriamne  paused,  and  Rizpah  wept  a  little 

"  Shall  I  go  on  or  pause,  mother  ?  " 

"  Go  on,  dear." 

"  But  you  weep,  are  you  ill  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  except  in  memory.  This  is  sweet  sorrow, 
that  beats  us  back  and  forth  ;  contrasting  dark  endings 
with  bright  beginnings;  heaven  high  hopings  with 
black  disappointments,  and  happy  lives  with  our  own, 
all  interwoven  with  miseries.  I  walked  once  in  the  sweet 
illusions  of  bridal  days,  but  an  utter  widowhood  came 
before  death  called.  That's  the  worst  bereavement." 

"  But  some  marriages  are  all  happiness,  are  they 
not?"  queried  the  daughter. 

"  Some,  but  not  many.  That's  the  rule.  Most  of 
them  begin  well  enough,  but  wedded  mates  are  not 
as  wisely  tender  as  lovers ;  they  too  soon  entomb 
all  their  joys  in  graves  of  selfishness  and  lust.  So 
then  the  dove  flies  from  the  blossom  of  espousal  never 
to  return." 


298  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"Perhaps,  sucn  as  they  did  not  love  enough  to  begin 
with  and  so  separated  ?  " 

"  Some  who  would  die  for  each  other  before  mar- 
riage,  would  die  to  be  quit  of  each  other,  after.  Hence 
the  brood  of  suicides,  and  that  blackest  crime  of  all, 
murder,  which  often  raises  its  treacherous,  cruel  head 
within  the  marriage  chamber." 

"  How  comes  this  error,  trouble,  horror?" 

"  In  wedding  bodies,  without  consents  or  courtings  of 
the  souls,  if  those,  who,  though  mismated,  happen  to 
join  lives,  were  only  wise,  they  might  yet  be  happy, 
growing  together.  But  read  more  daughter." 

"  In  the  fullness  of  time,  the  angel  Gabriel,  known  amid 
the  Seraphim  as  God's  champion,  the  chosen  of  Jehovah  and 
His  messenger  of  comfort  and  sympathy  from  heaven  to 
man,  was  commissioned  to  carry  the  glorious  news  to  earth. 
He  spread  his  rainbow  pinions,  and  with  his  own  radiance 
to  lighten  his  course,  passed  from  the  confines  of  the  august 
court  of  the  Divine  Presence,  the  companionship  of  his  fel 
low  archangels,  Michael,  Raphael,  Uriel,  to  go  out  across 
the  planet-lightened  realms  of  everlasting  space.  His 
course  was  watched  with  throbbing  interest  by  the  spirits  of 
mercy  appointed  for  ministering  to  man.  Gabriel  sped  on, 
with  sweeps  of  power  which  almost  devoured  distances,  nor 
paused  to  bask  for  a  moment  in  the  many  colored  lights  of 
the  golden  and  silvery  shielded  planets  or  constellations 
that  he  passed  in  his  rapid  flight.  The  wheeling  suns  and 
rushing  worlds,  marching  and  charging  along  the  shoreless 
oceans  of  eternal  space,  had  no  splendors  nor  powers  with 
which  to  challenge  his  high  mission  ;  though  theirs  was 
grand,  his  was  grander.  He  traveled  at  love's  behest,  on 
mercy's  work,  to  carry  to  this  little  earth,  rolling  along, 
mostly  in  shadows,  the  mandate  of  glory,  the  news  of 
heaven's  great  saving  device.  He  bore  proclaim  -lion  in  its 
substance  and  its  realizations  forever  the  manifold  wisdom  of 
God  ;  the  wonder  of  all  who  know  to  think  or  reason.  And 
so  that  voyage  passed  into  the  pages  of  history  and  the 
records  of  eternity  as  well. 


The  Wedding,  the  Birth  and  the  Flight.         299 

"  Mary,  whom  Gabriel  sought,  was  engaged  in  evening 
prayer  as  was  her  wont,  with  her  face  toward  Jerusalem's 
Temple." 

Miriamne  paused  ;  she  perceived  that  she  had  ar 
rived  at  a  part  of  the  manuscript  which  Father  Adol- 
phus  had  marked  with  a  red  line  to  remind  her  it  was 
from  his  Christian  Bible.  She  feared  to  read  this  por 
tion  to  her  mother. 

"  Read  on,  daughter,  the  words  are  precious  ;  they 
are  as  songs  in  the  night  to  my  soul." 

Miriamne  continued: 

"And  in  the  sixth  month  the  angel  Gabriel  was  sent 
from  God  unto  a  city  of  Galilee,  named  Nazareth, 

"  To  a  virgin  espoused  to  a  man  whose  name  was 
Joseph,  of  the  house  of  David ;  and  the  virgin's  name 
was  Mary 

"And  the  angel  came  in  unto  her  and  said,  Hail! 
thou  art  highly  favored,  the  Lord  is  with  thee  :  blessed 
art  thou  among  women. 

"And  when  she  saw  him,  she  was  troubled  at  his 
saying,  and  cast  in  her  mind  what  manner  of  salutation 
this  should  be. 

"And  the  angel  said  unto  her,  Fear  not,  Mary:  for 
thou  hast  found  favor  with  God. 

"  And,  behold,  thou  shalt  conceive  in  thy  womb, 
and  bring  forth  a  son,  and  shalt  call  his  name  JESUS." 

Miriamne  read  the  last  word  "Joshua." 

She  proceeded  : 

"  He  shall  be  great,  and  shall  be  called  the  Son  of 
the  Highest ;  and  the  Lord  God  shall  give  unto  him 
the  throne  of  his  father  David. 

"  And  he  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  for 
ever;  and  of  his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end. 


3OO  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"Then  said  Mary  unto  the  angel,  How  shall  this  be, 
seeing  I  know  not  a  man? 

"And  the  angel  answered  and  said  unto  her,  The 
Holy  Ghost  shall  come  upon  thee,  and  the  power  of 
the  Highest  shall  overshadow  thee  :  therefore  also  that 
Holy  Thing  which  shall  be  born  of  thee  shall  be  called 
the  Son  of  God." 

"Hold!  hold!"  cried  Rizpah.  "What  is  this?  the 
faith  of  the  Nazarene?" 

Miriamne  was  awed.  She  feared  she  had  proceeded 
too  far ;  but  quickly  remembering  an  explanation  of 
Father  Adolphus,  replied:  "Be  content,  mother,  I 
read  but  that  that  appears  in  our  holy  prophets,  Isaiah, 
the  poetic  and  vehement ;  his  words  you  so  much  prize 
have  here  an  echo." 

Rizpah  gazed  at  her  daughter,  with  a  puzzled,  ques 
tioning  expression  for  a  moment,  and  then  senten- 
tiously  said,  "  Read  on."  She  was  alert,  though  severe. 
Her  curiosity  was  ruling,  but  her  prudence  was  con 
served,  at  least  in  her  own  mind.  The  daughter  was 
anxious,  but  could  not  retreat  ;  she  knew  she  must 
read  further  or  make  a  futile  effort  to  explain  her 
reluctance.  The  two  were  a  study  ;  each  afraid  of  the 
other  :  each  anxious  to  aid  the  other  to  truth  ;  both  on 
guard,  and,  while  professing  to  be  all  love  for  each 
other,  attempting  to  move  forward  to  a  fuller  fellow 
ship  by  indirection.  The  outlines  of  the  cross  were 
appearing  in  that  household,  and  never  was  there  to  be 
complete  accord  until  there  it  ruled  all  hearts. 

Miriamne  continued  to  read,  but  confined  herself 
chiefly  to  notes  made  by  the  old  priest  on  the  margin 
of  her  manuscript. 

"  Presently  Joseph,  the  affianced   husband  of  M«ry>  dis. 


The  Wedding,  the  Birth  and  the  Flight.  301 

covered  that  his  beloved  was  to  become  a  mother.  At  first 
the  discovery  was  like  a  dagger  in  his  heart,  for  as  yet  the 
marriage  had  not  been  consummated.  It  was  a  crisis  of 
great  import  and  trial  to  husband  and  wife.  Joseph,  though 
now  a  plain  man  and  a  mechanic,  carried  in  his  veins  the 
noblest  blood  of  his  race,  being  descendant  of  the  ancient 
kings  and  in  the  line  of  Solomon  and  David.  Besides  that, 
he  had  all  the  abhorrence  of  the  better  Jews  for  adultery, 
that  their  awful  law  of  death  as  its  penalty,  implied." 

"  Did  he  help  the  mob  to  stone  her?"  cried  Rizpah. 

Miriamne  was  startled  by  her  mother's  angry  earn 
estness. 

"  Oh  !  we'll  see." 

She  continued  reading: 

"  He  met  his  affianced  in  the  evening  on  her  return  from 
Hebron's  rosy  hills,  whither  she  had  gone  to  visit  her  kins 
woman,  the  mother  of  John,  by  name  Elizabeth.  The  inter 
view  of  those  two  noble  women  had  prepared  Mary  to  tell 
her  betrothed  all  that  troubled  and  rejoiced  her.  When  her 
espoused  met  her  privately  and  for  the  last  time,  as  he  in 
tended,  he  found  her  sweetly,  serenely  singing,  as  was  her 
wont,  a  Davidic  psalm.  He  was  at  first  astonished,  not 
knowing  how  she  could  be  so  happy  under  such  stigma  as 
seemed  to  rest  upon  her.  His  patrician  blood  was  roused, 
and  for  a  moment  he  was  ready  to  denounce  her  to  the 
Sanhedrim  as  an  adulteress.  Then  he  looked  at  her,  piti- 
?ully,  questioningly.  It  could  not  be,  he  meditated,  that 
•>ne  so  young  could  be  so  depraved  as  to  sing  God  praises, 
being  a  criminal.  She  must  be  insane  !  He  tore  himself 
from  her  presence,  but  instantly  returned  when  she  called 
;>ut  :  '  Joseph,  God  knows  all  ;  touch  not  His  anointed.' 

"  '  Woman  ! '  he  cried  '  explain  !  explain  !  Thy  seeming 
sin  hangs  scorpions  over  my  eyes,  and  turns  my  heart  to 
ashes.  Thy  calmness  is  a  wonderment ! ' 

"  Then  Mary  quietly  recited  to  him  the  wondrous  story  of 
Gabriel's  visit. 

"  Joseph  was  pale,  and  reverently  attentive  ;  but  still  the 
sadness  of  his  countenance  betokened  his  incredulity. 

"  Mary,  self-possessed,  confident  in  her  own  integrity, 
continued  :  '  For  three  months  I  have  been  secluded  with 


The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

my  kinswoman,  Elizabeth.  She  knows  I  saw  no  man,  and 
thou  canst  testify  of  the  manner  of  my  living  since  our 
espousal  ;  but  1  got  words  from  God,  at  Hebron.  When  I 
first  went  into  my  kinswoman's  house." 

"  Elizabeth  was  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  : 

"  And  she  spake  out  with  a  loud  voice,  and  said, 
Blessed  art  thou  among  women,  and  blessed  is  the 
fruit  of  thy  womb. 

"And  whence  is  this  to  me,  that  the  mother  of  my 
Lord  should  come  to  me  ? 

"  For,  lo,  as  soon  as  the  voice  of  thy  salutation 
sounded  in  mine  ears,  the  babe  leaped  in  my  womb 
for  joy. 

"  And  blessed  is  she  that  believed :  for  there  shall  be 
a  performance  of  those  things  which  were  told  her 
from  the  Lord." 

"  No  sooner  had  Elizabeth  finished  that  salutation,  than 
the  Spirit  of  the  Most  Holy  Ghost  possessed  me  and  I, 
thus,  without  premeditation  prophetically  said  : 

"  My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord. 

"  And  my  spirit  hath  rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour. 

"  For  he  hath  regarded  the  low  estate  of  his  hand 
maiden  :  for,  behold,  from  henceforth  all  generations 
shall  call  me  blessed. 

"  For  He  that  is  mighty  hath  done  to  me  great 
things  ;  and  holy  is  His  name. 

"  And  His  mercy  is  on  them  that  fear  him  from  gen 
eration  to  generation. 

"  He  hath  shewed  strength  with  his  arm  ;  He  hath 
scattered  the  proud  in  the  imagination  of  their  hearts. 

"  He  hath  put  down  the  mighty  from  their  seats, 
and  exalted  them  of  low  degree. 

•v  He  hath  filled  the  hungry  with  good  things  ;  and 
the  rich  He  hath  sent  empty  away. 


The  Wedding,  the  Birth  and  the  Flight.         503 

"  He  hath  holpen  his  servant  Israel,  in  remembrance 
of  his  mercy. 

"  As  He  spake  to  our  fathers,  to  Abraham,  and  to  his 
seed  forever."* 

"  I  tarried  until  Elizabeth's  son  was  born.  He  is  to  be  the 
herald  of  mine  !  Joseph  was  amazed.  The  wisdom  and 
stately  cnaracter  of  her  magnificent  description  and  ascrip 
tion  were  unaccountable.  But  he  doubted  still  her  integ 
rity.  Yet  his  wrath  was  softened  into  pity  a  little  He 
hesitated,  and  then,  being  a  just  man  and  not  willing  to  make 
her  a  public  example,  was  minded  to  put  her  away  privately." 

"  Ha,  ha  ;"  laughed  Rizpah,  bitterly  ;  "  I  see  now, 
'tis  a  beautiful  fable  thou  art  reading!  Put  her  away 
privately  !  a  man  do  that  under  such  circumstances  ! 
Bah  !  rather  would  a  real  man  parade  the  woman's 
guilt  from  the  house  tops.  In  truth,  to  show  that  he 
was  sinless  because  he  was  such  a  Nemesis  of  sin  ;  or  to 
get  the  pity  of  light-headed  fools,  who  would  gladly 
take  the  place  of  the  discarded  !  A  pretty,  baby  face 
can  catch  unerringly  the  man  who  pities  himself  well,  if 
she  will  only  gush  with  real  or  affected  pity  for  him.  Pity 
and  flatter  a  man  and  he'll  be — a  Lucifer!  But  read 
it  all.  This  is  refreshing;  its  so  absurdly  uncommon!" 

The  girl  continued  : 

"  But  while  bethought  on  these  things,  behold,  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  unto  him  in  a  dream,  say 
ing,  Joseph,  thou  son  of  David,  fear  not  to  take  unto 
thee  Mary  thy  wife  :  for  that  which  is  conceived  in  her 
is  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

"And  she  shall  bring  forth  a  son,  thou  shalt  call  his 
name  JESUS:  for  he  shall  save  his  people  from  their 
sins. 

"  Now  all  this  was  done,  that  it  might  be  fulfilled 
which  was  spoken  of  the  Lord  by  the  prophet,  saying, 

*  The  Magnificat. 


304  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David, 

"  Behold,  a  virgin  shall  be  with  child,  and  shall  bring 
forth  a  son,  and  they  shall  call  his  name  Emmanuel, 
which  being  interpreted  is,  God  with  us. 

"Then  Joseph  being  raised  from  sleep  did  as  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  had  bidden  him,  and  took  unto  him 
his  wife. 

Miriamne  again  read  "Joshua"  for  Jesus,  but  yet 
felt  assured  that  her  mother  was  in  heart,  recognizing 
the  source  of  the  story.  Rizpah,  by  silence,  pretended 
not  to  know  she  was  listening  to  parts  of  the  Christian 
Bible,  for  she  was  very  curious  now.  Miriamne  was 
willing  the  harmless  pretense  should  continue.  But 
they  furtively  observed  each  other. 

"  I  see  ;  this  is  a  story  based  upon  some  of  the 
Christian's  heresies,"  interrupted  Rizpah.  "If  the 
stories  be  so  unnatural,  I'd  never  fear  their  sacred 
books !  " 

Miriamne  was  rejoiced,  for  her  mother  was  becoming 
interested,  and  that  was  nigh  being  fully  persuaded 
that  their  home  was  not  contaminated  by  the  hated 
Christian's  Bible.  Miriamne  read  again  : 

"  Mary  now  was  contented.  She  had  the  approval  of 
God  and  her  conscience,  and  that  for  which  hei  young 
heart  greatly  yearned  the  approval  of  the  one  man  of  earth 
whom  she  loved.  It  mattered  little  to  her  that  few  others 
knew  her  wondrous  secret.  She  knew  her  position  was 
one  of  peril,  and  yet  she  felt  certain  God  would  be  with 
her  to  the  end.  The  joy  of  Joseph  was  full,  and  the  revul 
sion  of  feeling  from  crushing  shame,  to  lofty  hope  was 
unutterable.  A  while  before  he  was  ready  to  die,  as  he 
began  tearing  from  his  heart  its  idol,  and  attempting  to 
consign  her  to  the  tomb  like  that  of  death,  forgetfullness 
Now  he  perceived  himself  elect  of  God  to  defend,  vouch 
for  and  shelter  the  woman  of  women,  the  highly  favoied  of 
Deity. 


The  Wedding,  the  Birth  and  the  Flight.         305 

"And  it  came  to  pass  in  those  days  that  there 
went  out  a  decree  from  Caesar  Augustus  that  all  the 
world  should  be  taxed. 

"And  all  went  to  be  taxed,  every  one  into  his  own 
city. 

"  And  Joseph  also  went  up  from  Galilee,  out  of  the 
city  of  Nazareth,  into  Judea,  unto  the  city  of  David, 
which  is  called  Bethlehem,  (because  he  was  of  the 
house  and  lineage  of  David,) 

"  To  be  taxed  with  Mary  his  espoused  wife. 

"And  so  it  was,  that,  while  they  were  there,  the 
days  were  accomplished. 

"And  she  brought  forth  her  firstborn  son,  and  wrap 
ped  him  in  swaddling  clothes,  and  laid  him  in  a  man 
ger  ;  because  there  was  no  room  for  them  in  the  inn." 

"  How  barbarous  !  They  surely  could  not  have  been 
Jews  who  kept  that  inn,  or  a  woman  in  bearing  would 
have  had  tender  welcome.  They  must  have  been 
Christians  ;  they  are  the  people  whose  women  blush 
when  carrying  little  life,  and,  as  if  ashamed,  forgetting 
that  God  had  royally  privileged  them,  hide  themselves. 
Bah,  I'm  sick  of  the  thought !  I've  seen  Christian 
husbands  ashamed  of  their  pregnant  wives  ; "  so  solilo 
quised  Rizpah. 

"  There  were  no  Christians  at  the  time  of  these 
events,  mother.  But  shall  I  read  of  the  company 
Mary  had,  to  comfort  her?" 

"  Yes,  do;  I'd  like  to  have  been  there,  just  to  rai]  at 
the  inn's  folks." 

Miriamne  continued, 

"  And  there  were  in  the  same  country  shepherds 
abiding  in  the  field,  keeping  watch  over  their  flock  by 
night. 


306  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"And,  lo,  the  angel  of  the  Lord  came  upon  them, 
and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shone  round  about  them  ; 
and  they  were  sore  afraid. 

"  And  the  angel  said  unto  them,  Fear  not :  for,  be- 
hold,  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy,  which 
shall  be  to  all  people." 

"  It  is  said  that  even  the  cave,  where  Mary  was,  was 
filled  with  supernal  light,"  remarked  Miriamne  di- 
gressingly. 

"I  believe  it  on  my  word.  If  angels  ever  come  to 
earth,  it  must  be  surely  to  hold  glad  torches  about  the 
couches  where  beings,  to  be  at  last  perchance  like 
themselves,  are  coming  forth  to  life,"  said  Rizpah. 

"  It  is  thus  reported,"  continued  Miriamne  : 

"Now  when  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem  of  Judea 
in  the  days  of  Herod  the  king,  behold,  there  came 
wise  men  from  the  east  to  Jerusalem, 

"  Saying,  Where  is  he  that  is  born  King  of  the 
Jews  ?  for  we  have  seen  his  star  in  the  east,  and  are 
come  to  worship  him." 

Miriamne  substituted  Joshua  for  Jesus  in  the  read 
ing. 

"  Joshua,  '  Joshua,'  what  '  Joshua  '  is  that  ?  " 

"Joshua  means  "deliverer;"  this  one  was  to  be 
such  ;  for  the  rest,  I've  not  before  read  it,  mother." 

"  Read  on,  again,"  tritely,  Rizpah  spoke. 

"When  Herod  the  king  had  heard  these  things,  he 
was  troubled,  and  all  Jerusalem  with  him. 

"And  when  he  had  gathered  all  the  chief  priests  and 
scribes  of  the  people  together,  he  demanded  cf  them 
where  Christ  should  be  born. 

"And  they  said  unto  him,  In  Bethlehem  of  Judea: 
for  thus  it  is  written  by  the  prophet, 


The  Wedding,  the  Birth  ard  the  Flight.          307 

"  And  them  Bethlehem,  in  the  land  of  Juda,  art  not 
the  least  among  the  princes  of  Juda:  for  out  of  thee 
shall  come  a  Governor,  that  shall  rule  my  people 
Israel. 

"  Then  Herod,  when  he  had  privily  called  the  wise 
men,  inquired  of  them  diligently  what  time  the  star 
appeared. 

"And  he  sent  them  to  Bethlehem,  and  said,  Go  and 
search  diligently  for  the  young  child ;  and  when  ye 
have  found  him,  bring  me  word  again,  that  I  may  come 
and  worship  him  also. 

"  When   they  had  heard  the  king,   they  departed 
and,  lo,  the  star,  which  they  saw  in  the  east,  went  be 
fore  them,  till  it  came  and  stood  over  where  the  young 
child  was. 

"  When  they  saw  the  star,  they  rejoiced  with  ex 
ceeding  great  joy. 

"And  when  they  were  come  into  the  house,  they 
saw  the  young  child  with  Mary  his  mother,  and  fell 
down,  and  worshiped  him :  and  when  they  had 
opened  their  treasures,  they  presented  unto  him  gifts  ; 
gold,  and  frankincense,  and  myrrh. 

"  And  being  warned  of  God  in  a  dream  that  they 
should  not  return  to  Herod,  they  departed  into  their 
own  country  another  way." 

Miriamne  read  'The  Annointed '  where  the  text 
said  Christ. 

"  Miriamne,  who  could  these  men  have  been,  Rab 
bins  ?  " 

"I  think  not,  mother  ;  I  see  upon  the  margin  of  my 
tnugellah*  a  note  which  says,  These  were  light  or  fire- 
worshipers  of  Persia.  They,  or  rather  their  ancestors 
had  heard,  centuries  before,  from  the  Jews,  then  their 


308  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

captives,  that  there  was  an  expectation,  based  on 
wondrous  prophecies,  that  some  time,  there  was  to 
be  on  earth  a  man,  born  of  woman,  in  character 
like  God  and  in  mission  the  bringer  in  of  the  golden 
age.  These  Magi  were  seeking  that  person,  like  pious 
pilgrims." 

"  Oh,  the  Messiah.  Alas  !  we  all  long  for  His  com 
ing  !  "  Then  Rizpah  fell  into  a  revery  from  which 
Miriamne  roused  her  with  the  question  :  "Art  too 
weary  to  hear  more  ?  " 

"  No,  no ;  read,  on.  These  things  strangely  move 
and  rest  me." 

Miriamne  continued : 

"  When  eight  days  were  fulfilled,  they  circumcised  the 
Child,  calling  him  Joshua,  offering,  according  to  the  law,  a 
pair  of  turtle  doves." 

"  Circumcised  ?  Ah,  I'm  glad  !  They  were  good 
Jews,  though  poor  ones,  since  they  offered  the  gifts  of 
the  poor,  two  pigeons,"  exclaimed  Rizpah. 

Miriamne  read  onward  : 

"There  was  a  man  in  Jerusalem,  whose  name  was 
Simeon  ;  and  the  same  man  was  just  and  devout,  wait 
ing  for  the  consolation  of  Israel. 

"And  it  was  revealed  unto  him  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
that  he  should  not  see  death,  before  he  had  seen  the 
Lord's  Christ. 

"  And  he  came  by  the  Spirit  into  the  Temple ;  and 
when  the  parents  brought  in  the  child. 

"  Then  took  he  him  up  in  his  arms,  and  blessed  God 
and  said  : 

"Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace3 
according  to  thy  word  : 

"  For  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation, 


The  Wedding,  the  Birth  and  the  Flight.          309 

"  Which  thou  hast  prepared  before  the  face  of  all 
people  ; 

"  A  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and  the  glory  of 
thy  people  Israel. 

''And  Joseph  and  his  mother  marveled  at  these 
things  which  were  spoken  of  him. 

"  And  Simeon  blessed  them,  and  said  unto  Mary  his 
mother,  Behold  this  child  is  set  for  the  fall  and  rising 
again  of  many  in  Israel  ;  and  for  a  sign  which  shall  be 
spoken  against ; 

"  (Yea,  a  sword  shall  pierce  through  thy  own  soul 
also  ;)  that  the  thoughts  of  many  hearts  may  be 
revealed." 

"  How  mysterious  and  contradictory,  and  yet  how 
true  the  old  man's  word,  Miriamne?  He  blessed  the 
parents  amid  their  pious  services  toward  their  offspring, 
yet  predicted  a  sword  thrust  for  the  mother.  Ah,  the 
sword  for  the  mother  is  ever  impending !  But  read 
further." 

Miriamne  continued  : 

"  And  Anna,  a  prophetess,  who  was  a  widow  of 
about  fourscore  and  four  years,  which  departed  not 
from  the  temple,  but  served  God  with  fastings  and 
prayers  night  and  day. 

"And  she  coming  in  that  instant  gave  thanks  like 
wise  unto  the  Lord,  and  spoke  of  him  to  all  them  that 
looked  for  redemption  in  Jerusalem." 

"What  a  finished  picture,  Miriamne,"  interrupted 
Rizpah.  "See,  a  young  mother  committing  her  child 
to  God  ;  a  blessing  and  a  sword  of  pain  revealed  ; 
then  the  finest  human  sympathy  in  the  form  of 
motherhood  chastened  by  years  coming  to  encourage 
her.  Oh,  the  years  have  sadly  wrecked  a  true  woman 


310  Tlie  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

if  they  have  put  her  beyond  saying,  from  her  heart ; 
'  Poor  girl,  I  love  thee,'  to  her  younger  sister  in  hef 
hour  of  maternal  trial.  But  what  followed  ?  " 

Miriamne  replied  by  again  reading: 

"The  angel  of  the  Lord  appeareth  to  Joseph  in  a 
dream,  saying,  Arise,  and  take  the  young  child  and  his 
mother,  and  flee  into  Egypt,  and  be  thou  there  until  I 
bring  thee  word :  for  Herod  will  seek  the  young  child 
to  destroy  him." 

"Ha!  the  jealous  old  hypocrite!  But  I  remember, 
Herod  murdered  his  wife.  A  man  brute  enough  to  do 
that  could  easily  seek  the  life  of  an  innocent  babe.  It" 
Apollyon  ever  be  dethroned  because  of  the  appear 
ing  of  one  more  devilish  than  himself,  the  dethroner 
will  be  a  wife-murderer !  "  exclaimed  Rizpah,  almost 
in  a  passion. 

Miriamne  continued: 

"Joseph  took  the  young  child  and  his  mother  by 
night,  and  departed  into  Egypt. 

"  And  was  there  until  the  death  of  Herod." 

"So  Jewry,  our  Jewry,  gave  one  of  its  young 
mothers  a  stable  for  a  bed  chamber,  a  manger  for  her 
babe ;  then  refused  her  these  by  making  her  an  exile. 
Cruel  Israel  said  go  or  be  childless!  Oh,  Israel  !  how 
Pagan  Rome  defiled  thee  !  "  passionately  exclaimed  the 
Jewish  matron. 

Miriamne  paused  until  the  mother  questioned  : 

"  Was  there  a  pursuit  ?  " 

"A  hot  one,  though  a  vain  one;  my  manuscript 
reads  as  follows  : 

"  Herod  had  charged  the  Magi  to  tell  him,  on  their 
return  from  their  quest,  the  abode  of  the  Child  born  under 
the  star.  He  pretended  to  desire  to  pay  it  homage,  but  in 


The  Wedding,  the  Birth  and  the  Flight.         311 

heart  he  was  intending  to  murder  it.  The  Magi,  impressed 
by  the  goodness  and  sanctity  of  mother  and  Infant,  never 
returned  to  Herod  to  betray  them." 

"  Then  Herod,  when  he  saw  that  he  was  mocked  of 
the  wise  men,  was  exceeding  wroth,  and  sent  forth  and 
slew  all  the  children  that  were  in  Bethlehem,  and  in  all 
the  coasts  thereof,  from  two  years  old  and  under, 
according  to  the  time  which  he  had  diligently  inquired 
of  the  wise  men. 

"  Then  was  fulfilled  that  which  v/as  spoken  by 
Jeremy,  the  prophet,  saying: 

"  In  Ramah  there  was  a  voice  heard,  lamentation, 
and  weeping,  and  a  great  mourning,  Rachel  weeping 
for  her  children,  and  would  not  be  comforted,  because 
they  are  not." 

"  So  a  dark  wave  of  misery  rolled  over  Bethlehem. 
Hundreds  of  women,  weeping  over  their  ovn  dead,  were  led 
to  understand  the  cruel  injustice  of  the  spirit  that  drove  the 
Virgin  and  her  child  into  exile,  and  that,  until  the  end  of 
time,  there  will  be  sorrow  in  the  homes  of  the  land  that 
does  despite  to  the  virtues  and  characteristics  exemplified, 
so  well,  by  that  mother  and  that  Child." 

With  these  words  Miriamne  rolled  up  her  parchment, 
saying:  "  This  is  all  there  is  written  here." 

"All?  It  is  well,  for  thou  art  weary  child.  We'll 
now  retire ;  to-morrow  I  must  speak  with  thee  about 
the  book.  Good-night,  now." 

"  Good-night,  mother." 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

THE  QUEEN  WITH  HER  FAMILY  IN  EGYPT. 

"  It  is  curious  to  observe,  as  the  worship  of  the  Virgin  mothei 
,xpanded  and  gathered  to  itself  the  relics  of  many  an  ancient  faith, 
.low  the  new  and  the  old  elements  became  amalgamated.  .  .  . 
The  Madonna  assumed  the  characteristics  .  .  .  of  the  types  of 
fertility."— ANNA  JAMISON. 

"  Babe  Jesus  lay  on  Mary's  lap, 
The  sun  shone  in  His  hair, 
And  so  it  was  she  saw,  mayhap, 
The  crown  already  there." 

— GEORGE  MCDONALD. 


HE  day  following  Miriamne's  readings  to  her 
mother,  she  eagerly  sought   Father  Adol- 
phus  that  she  might  receive  more   of  the 
narrative,  delightsome  to  herself  and  evi- 
dently  interesting  to  her  parent. 

Finding  the  priest  at  dawn  in  one  of  his  accustomed 
walks  amid  the  ruins,  she  scarcely  waited  for  his 
"Peace,  daughter,"  until  she  exclaimed,  "More!  I 
want  more  of  the  story  !  " 

"  Hast  finished  that  I  gave  thee  so  soon  ?  " 
"  Yes,  and  read  it  all  to   my  mother!     Is  that  not 
wonderful  ?" 
"  Temerity  !  " 

"  No ;  it  charms  her.  She  has  fallen  in  love  with 
the  child-wife.  Oh,  what  if  rny  mother  should  come 
to  think  and  believe  as  you — then  I  would  !  " 


The  Queen  with  her  family  in  Egypt.  313 

"  Thou  mayst  alone  ;  but  what  part  of  the  story  de- 
sirest  thou  ?  " 

"  All !  Nothing  less  than  all !  What  became  of 
the  Holy  Family  in  Egypt?" 

"  Now  sit  down  on  this  shattered  column  and  I'll 
recount  to  thee  the  traditions  in  order,  leaving  thee  to 
judge  which  is  true." 

"  Tell  me  what  you  believe  and  I'll  believe  it. 
That's  enough  '  " 

"  I  scarcely  am  able  to  do  that,  not  knowing  whether 
to  believe  or  disbelieve  some  of  the  things  reported. 
But  I  remember  them,  and  perceiving  that  though  they 
are  only  traditions,  they  are  very  beautiful  and  very 
natural,  I  remember  them  with  delight,  that  is  very 
near  to  giving  them  full  credence." 

"  Then,  so  will  I  do." 

"  It  may  be  the  wise  way,  for  I've  believed  that  the 
good  angels  who,  under  God,  watched  over  the  little 
outcast  family  drifting  about  in  strange  places,  have 
also  watched  over  the  drifting  stories  of  their  wander 
ings,  letting  the  facts  profitable  for  us  to  kncw^,  come 
safely  to  us,  though  they  have  come  without  the  seal 
of  authenticated  history." 

"  Now,  I  believe  all  this,  too." 

"  Well,  then,  ardent  catechumen,  listen.  For  three 
years  the  queenly  Mary,  with  her  consort  and  child, 
tarried  in  Egypt  —  " 

"  How  did  they  subsist  ?" 

"  Oh,  the  God  of  the  outcasts  Ishmael  and  Elijah, 
who  provided  water  for  one  and  bread  for  the  other  of 
those  two,  was  the  One  who  sent  the  Holy  Family  to 
Egypt  with  the  charge  that  they  '  be  there  until  He 
brought  them  word.'  Now.  thou  hast  learned  that 


314  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

when  God  sends  any  on  His  work  He  charges  Himseli 
with  their  support." 

"  Did  they  find  friends  in  Egypt  ?  ' 

"  Thou  wilt  learn  in  time,  daughter,  that  two  of  that 
family  had,  as  none  on  earth  before,  the  secret  of  mak 
ing  friends.  They  had  the  love-enchantment  from  on 
high,  which  has  been  winning  its  way  ever  since  over 
the  world.  But  I'll  proceed.  There  were  in  Egypt 
at  that  time  multitudes  of  Israelites  who  had  sought 
its  refuge  from  the  persecutions  practiced  toward  them 
nearer  home.  Doubtless  these  exiles  received  Joseph's 
family  kindly.  Also,  in  all  the  East  at  that  time  there 
were  many  artizan  leagues,  banded  together  to  aid 
their  fellow-craftsmen.  Joseph  being  a  carpenter,  I 
doubt  not,  found  among  these  sympathy  and  help." 

"  At  what  place  did  the  family  abide  ?  " 

"Tradition  says  they  tarried  for  a  considerable  per 
iod  at  Heliopolis,  the  city  celebrated  the  world  over 
for  its  splendid  temple,  where  centered  the  Egyptian 
Sun  worship.  To  me  this  tradition  seems  most  reason 
able,  when  I  remember  that  the  child  of  that  family 
was  pointed  out  before,  by  a  miraculous  star,  which 
led  the  Fire  worshipers  of  Persia  to  his  cradle.  The 
Fire  worshipers  of  the  far  East  and  the  Light  wor 
shipers  of  Egypt  were  much  alike  in  their  beliefs. 
They  were  all  seeking  light,  and,  impelled  by  the  ne 
cessity  of  man's  nature  for  some  religion,  revealed  or 
man-made,  able  to  do  no  better,  looked  up  to  the  sun, 
the  greatest  light  of  which  they  knew.  God's  hand 
was  in  that  meeting  of  the  old  and  the  new.  There  is 
a  tradition  that  when  the  Holy  Family  arrived  at 
Heliopolis  all  the  idols  in  the  Sun  Temple  fell  on  their 
faces.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  pathos  of  the  poor 


The  Queen  witli  Her  Family  in  Egypt.  315 

prayers  of  the  Light  worshipers  moved  the  Divine 
Mercy  to  send  them  the  Sun  of  Righteousness,  and  all 
the  handiwork  of  Rhameses,  at  On,  lies  in  great,  grim 
silent  ruins,  while  the  faith  that  had  its  germ  in  that 
little  outcast  family  is  overspreading  the  earth.  Alas, 
poor  Egypt !  " 

"Why  poor  Egypt  ?"  questioned  Miriamne,  wonder- 
ingly. 

"  Those  living  now  are  so  like  their  ancients  who,  in 
fright  and  helpless  doubt,  sought  to  save  themselves 
by  placating  both  good  and  evil  ;  the  light  struggles  in 
Egypt  to-day,  entering  slowly  and  often  retiring.  Yea, 
poor  Egypt,  I  pity  thee  !  But  I  digress.  It  is  said 
that  the  Holy  Family  also  tarried  for  a  season  at  Mem 
phis,  on  the  Nile,  the  city  where  chiefly  was  practiced 
the  worship  of  Apis,  the  sacred  bull.  Thou  remem- 
berest  how  Israel  was  nearly  ruined  by  doing  homage 
to  a  golden  calf  at  Sinai  ?  That  calf-worship  was  the 
same  as  the  Apis-worship  of  Egypt.  The  Egyptians, 
in  common  with  all  mankind  of  old,  earnestly  looked 
for  a  manifestation  of  God  in  visible  form — an  incar 
nation.  Their  priests  practiced  on  their  pitiful  yearn 
ings  and  credulity,  and  taught  them  to  believe  that 
their  greatest  god  appeared  from  time  to  time  undef 
the  form  of  a  bull,  which  Avatars  they,  the  priests, 
claimed  that  they  only  could  discover.  The 
Egyptians,  highly  esteeming  endurance  and  pas 
sionate  vigor,  readily  accepted  the  animal  pre-emi 
nent  in  these  things  as  the  abiding  place  and  ex 
pression  of  their  god.  The  Child  Jesus,  the 
token  of  a  better  faith,  was  fittingly  brought,  there 
fore,  to  Egypt's  Temple  of  Apis.  Thus  the  LigJit  and 
Immortality  confronted  that  typified  grossly  at  Mem- 


316  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

phis,  and  the  incarnations  that  were  as  false  as  they 
were  offensive,  were  brought  face  to  face  with  the  In 
carnation  sung  by  the  angels.  The  devotees  at  the 
fanes  of  Memphis  degraded  man  by  preferring  the 
beast.  He  that  made  man  a  little  lower  than  the  angels 
first,  afterward  exalted  him  to  sonship  by  appearing 
garbed  in  the  likeness  of  a  man.  Christ,  at  Memphis, 
was  to  do  what  Moses  did  at  Sinai." 

"  I  do  not  comprehend  these  words !  " 

"  As  Moses  ground  the  golden  image  worshiped  by 
Israel  to  powder,  so  Christ  came  to  overthrow  and  blot 
out  of  the  world  every  vestige  of  the  religions  or  be- 
lievings  that  exalts  the  animal  and  degrades  the  spirit 
ual  in  man.  He  heralded  the  age  of  gold  and  fire." 

"  And  was  Apis  overthrown  by  the  child?  " 

"  Not  immediately  ;  that  is  not  the  way  of  Him  who 
knows  no  haste  ;  but  in  His  own  good  time  its  fall 
came.  Egypt,  hoar  with  deep  thinkings  on  the  master 
problems  of  life,  death,  eternity,  did  much  in  distant 
times  to  color  and  express  the  beliefs  of  all  peoples.  It 
became  a  school  of  religious  as  well  as  the  theater  of 
some  of  their  greatest,  bloodiest  conflicts.  Let  me  re 
call  some  of  the  steps.  First,  I'll  begin  with  the  re 
vival  of  the  true  faith  under  Moses,  which  was  the 
revival  of  escape,  the  only  way  to  preserve  God's  peo 
ple  from  utter  defilement.  Thou  hast  read  in  thy 
Holy  writings  how  the  conflict  began  between  the  king 
and  Israel's  leader: 

And  PJiaraoh  called  for  Moses  and  for  Aaron,  and 
said,  Go  ye,  sacrifice  to  your  God  in  the  land. 

And  Moses  said,  It  is  not  meet  so  to  do  ;  for  we  shall 
sacrifice  the  abomination  of  the  Egyptians  to  the  Lord 
our  God:  lo.  shall  we  sacrifice  the  abomination  of 


Tlie  Queen  with  Her  Family  in  Egypt.  3  1 7 

the  Egyptians  before  their  eyes,  and  zvill  they  not 
stone  us  ? 

We  will  go  three  days  journey  into  the  wilderness,  and 
sacrifice  to  the  Lord  our  God,  as  he  shall  command  us. 

"Why  was  Moses  so  anxious  to  get  away  so  far!  " 

"I'll  show  thee ;  that  was  then  a  mystery,  now  ex 
plained.  Egypt  worshiped  a  bull  devoutly ;  the 
Israelites  were  commanded  to  sacrifice  to  God  a  red 
heifer.  The  color,  red,  was  an  antetype  of  the  saving 
blood  to  be  shed  on  red  Calvary.  Moses,  methinks, 
desired  to  get  away  that  he  might  reveal  this  sacred 
mystery,  so  far  as  he  discerned  it,  to  those  to  whom  it 
was  sent.  Follow  me  now  with  pious,  frank  heart. 
The  Israelites  antagonized  the  customs  of  Egypt 
sharply  by  offering  before  God  the  finer,  weaker  ani 
mal,  and  now,  girl,  as  I  read  of  Mary  and  her  child 
waiting  about  Memphis,  I  discern  the  past  and  that 
present  meeting.  It  seems  to  me  that  He  who  thun 
dered  to  Pharoah  '  let  my  people  go '  reappears  in  the 
form  of  the  child,  the  pitying  shepherd,  seeking  the 
lost  sheep  amid  earth's  offscourings.  More,  as  I  think 
of  Mary,  the  beautiful  outcast,  following  the  fortunes 
of  her  Divine  Child  down  into  that  dark  land,  and  also 
remember  how  His  blood  finally  crimsoned  her  life,  I 
recall  the  red  heifer  offered  on  Israel's  ancient  altars. 
Mary,  for  the  world's  sake,  through  her  maternity,  was 
laid  on  the  altar." 

"  Father  Adolphus,  you  dazzle  and  yet  convince  me. 
How  wonderful  all  this  seems!  " 

"I  see  the  Holy  Child  in  Egypt,  the  building  nation 
of  earth,  as  the  founder  of  a  new  order  of  building. 
Now  follow  me,  child.  After  the  garden  and  the  wilds, 
where  primitive  man  abode,  there  came  the  Tabernacle 


3 1 8  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

and  Temple.  When  man  enters  into  the  benign  influ 
ences  of  social  life,  he  begins  building  a  house  to  shelter 
and  seclude  his  own.  When  he  takes  God  or  a  god 
into  his  society  he  builds  a  temple.  If  there  be  growth 
and  culture  he  decorates  his  buildings,  hideously  at 
first,  aesthetically  after  practice.  Presently  he  becomes 
a  scientific  builder  and  a  philosopher.  Then  to  him 
life  is  all  building.  He  grasps  the  thought  that  he  is 
the  architect  of  himself,  of  his  character,  of  his  future. 
If  his  religious  life  is  deepened  he  expresses  all  his 
philosophy,  all  his  aspirations  in  monuments  and  tem 
ples.  Moses  and  Solomon,  in  tabernacle  and  temple, 
but  repeated  the  deeds  of  Egypt.  But  Egypt  built 
under  the  sun,  the  patriarchs  under  the  Spirit.  Egypt 
had  done  its  best,  reached  the  end  of  its  resources, 
having  filled  the  land  from  the  Delta  to  the  cataracts 
of  the  Nile  with  pyramidial  monument  and  august 
fanes.  But  building  under  the  sun,  in  the  light  of  na 
ture  only,  was  building  in  the  dark,  at  least  half  the 
time.  Christ,  the  architect  of  all  that  is  enduring,  con 
fronted  the  achievements  of  those  ancients  as  a  merci 
ful  destroyer.  He  came  to  them  to  turn  and  overturn 
that,  after  the  ruins,  their  mind  be  turned  to  a  building 
upon  and  with  the  precious  living  Corner-Stone  !  Try 
to  remember  all  this.  Christianity  is  on  the  eve  of  a 
new  building  age.  The  crusades  are  ended.  Now  for 
religious  palaces!  But  these  in  turn  will  be  thrust 
aside,  that  all  may  give  themselves  to  build  souls  up 
for  eternity ! " 

"  I  am  dazzled  good  father,  indeed  ;  but  oh,  I  ca* 
not  remember  all  these  things  !  I'm  like  a  child  in  my 
love  for  stories,  and  I  can  re-tell  such  to  my  mother,  as 
I  can  not  these  deeper  things  you  utter." 


The  Queen  with  Her  Family  in  Egypt.  319 

"  I  forgot,  child.  But  we  priests  preach  by  habit 
everywhere !  " 

"Tell  me  more  of  Mary  and  Joseph  and  Jesus.  Were 
the  Egyptians  kind  to  them?" 

"As  kind  as  the  followers  of  the  Pharaohs  to  the 
descendants  of  Joseph  !  No  more.  There  was  no  more 
room  in  Egypt  for  Jesus  at  His  coming  than  there  was 
among  His  own  people.  But  the  God  of  Moses,  ever 
the  living  God,  though  opposed,  may  never  be  thwarted 
nor  killed  !  " 

"  Oh,  now  do  not  tell  me  these  things,  too  deep  for 
me  ;  just  tell  me  the  simple  story  of  the  sojourn  in  that 
strange  land." 

"  So  be  it,  girl.  If  I  digress,  recall  me.  They  say 
that  the  Holy  Family  found  in  that  land  a  few  to  accept 
them  kindly.  One  such  was  a  robber,  who,  happening 
upon  them,  was  at  first  about  to  do  them  violence  ;  but 
he  was  restrained  by  the  demeanor  of  the  saintly 
mother,  and  his  heart  was  all  changed  toward  compas 
sion  of  the  little  company.  Instead  of  robbing,  he  gave 
them  a  temporary  home  in  his  mountain  retreat.  It  is 
said  that  he  was  the  one  to  whom  the  child  of  Mary, 
long  after,  while  dying  on  the  cross,  companion  in 
death  with  that  same  robber,  gave  repentance,  with  the 
promise  of  Paradise." 

"  How  good  and  natural !  " 

"Then  there's  another  legend.  It  is  that  Mary  and 
her  loved  ones  were  met  in  that  strange  country  by 
one  of  the  world's  pilgrims  of  pilgrims — a  gipsy,  who 
was  a  sorceress.  There's  a  charming  little  dialogue, 
part  in  prose  and  part  in  verse,  all  about  that  meeting, 
which  I  have  hei  e.  I'll  read  it.  The  sorceress  begins 
chanting: 


320  TIic  Queen  of 'the  House  of  David. 

GlPSY — I  come,  I  come  from  the  land  of  the  sun, 

From  the  dim,  dim  past  of  the  far-off  dawn ; 
The  waif  of  the  world,  the  froth  of  the  sea, 
Of  a  clan  that  has  been  and  ever  shall  be. 

MARY — God  give  thee  grace  and  forgive  thee  thy 
sins. 

GlPSY — Ye  are  pilgrims,  too  ;  no  lodge  for  to-night, 
Ye  are  outcasts  here  in  a  flight  of  fright  ! 
But  the  mother  charms  and  my  heart  say  come. 
Ye  may  come  ;  shall  come  to  my  gipsy's  home. 

" '  The  gipsy,  Zingarella,  took  the  babe  in  her  arms, 
but  then  suddenly  broke  forth  into  a  mournful  chantt 
as  she  held  the  hand  of  the  infant : 

'  Here's  a  cradle  song,  and  a  tear  and  a  moan  ; 
Here's  a  crown  of  thorns  and  a  cross,  when  grown. 
Here's  a  vale  of  blood  and  a  black,  black  night. 
Here's  a  flocking  world  and  a  rising  light.' 

"'And  then  suddenly  falling  upon  her  knees,  the 
gipsy  asked  alms ;  but  this  time,  as  never  before, 
with  both  palms  extended  and  craving  neither  silver 
nor  gold,  but  eternal  life.  It  was  granted.'  " 

"  Oh,  father  Adolphus,  I'll    never  forget  this  story." 

"  Forget  not,  either,  its  simple  lesson  ;  the  gospel 
comes  to  the  very  waifs  of  life,  and  so  there  is  help 
for  the  sinning,  wherever  found,  in  the  Holy  Child  ;  en 
couragement  to  all  holy  longings  in  the  meanest  breast 
of  the  meanest  woman,  once  within  that  circle,  all 
radiant  with  the  beautiful  virtues  of  that  Saviour'? 
mother." 

"  Surely,  I'll  treasure  this  lesson,  which  is  both  balm 
and  heart's  ease." 

"  I  must  go  now,  so  must  thou.     I'll  send  at  noon  to 


The  Queen  with  Her  family  in  Egypt.          321 

the  Reservoir,  another  parchment.  Let  one  of  the  lads 
meet  the  messenger.  It  will  be  suitable  for  reading  to 
thy  mother,  Rizpah.  Be  not  so  soon  over-hopeful. 
We  must  proceed  with  her  slowly.  Those  most  need 
ing  the  light  will  curse  it  if,  corning  too  suddenly,  it 
chance  to  dazzle.  Israel  still  goes  down  all  uncon 
sciously  to  Egypt  for  gods,  and  the  spectacle  of  man 
changing  the  invisible  down,  down,  continues  every 
where.  Slowly,  we  who  would  be  faithful,  must  raise 
up  His  only  true  presentment.  We  must  allure  after 
us,  with  all  wisdom  and  tenderness,  those  we  would 
win,  while  striving  ourselves  to  rise  toward  Divine  ideals 
ever  beyond  and  above  us.  God  bless  my  little  mis 
sionary. " 

They  parted  ;  and   there  were  tears  on  Miriamne's 
;  but  not  of  anguish. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  SHADOW  OF  THE  CROSS. 

Day  followed  day,  like  any  childhood  passing; 

And  silently  Mary  sat  at  her  wheel 

And  watched  the  boy  Messiah  as  she  span ; 

And  as  a  human  child  unto  his  mother, 

Subject  the  while,  He  did  her  low-voiced  bidding- 

Or  gently  came  to  lean  upon  her  knee 

And  ask  her  of  the  thoughts  that  in  him  stirred, 

4  And  then,  all  tearful-hearted,  she  paused, 
Or  with  tremulous  hand  spun  on — • 
The  blessing  that  her  lips  instructive  gave, 
Asked  Him  with  an  instant  thought  again  : 

OTHER,  I've  another  volume  of  that  charm 
ing  story,  full  of  wonderful   things.     Shall 
we    peruse   them    to  please    our  woman's 
curiosity,  to-night  ?  " 
"Woman's  curiosity?"    angrily  ejaculated   Rizpah, 
"  They  say  all  women  are  inquisitive  ;  do  they  not?" 
"They!     The  fling  of  the  'lords  of  earth  !'     Eater 
up   with  anxiety  solely  concerning  themselves,  they 
plunge  into  introspections  and  questionings  pertaining 
to  their  own  worth  ;  the  ultimate  of  their  own  precious- 
ness,  that   they  call  philosophy.     Our  sex,  in  self-for- 
getfulness,  ask  questions    out  of    sympathy,  and  with 
desire  to  help  others  ;  that's  'curiosity!'      Faugh,  the 
fling  is  sickening!  " 


The  Shadow  of  the  Cross.  323 

"  My  book  is  both  curious  and  philosophical  ;  it's  in 
teresting  to  both  sexes  therefore.  Shall  I  read  ?" 

"  On  thy  promise  to  tell  me  later  whence  it  came, 
who  its  author,  thou  mayst  read  it  to  me." 

Miriamne,  perceiving  that  her  mother  was  curious  to 
hear  the  whole  story,  though  the  former  placated  her 
conscience  by  a  show  of  indifference,  responded  :  "  I'll 
begin  with  the  return  of  the  wanderers. "  So  saying, 
she  read : 

"  '  But  when  Herod  was  dead,  behold,  an  angel  of  the 
Lord  appeareth  in  a  dream  to  Joseph  in  Egypt,  say- 
ing,  arise,  and  take  the  young  child  and  his  mother, 
and  go  into  the  land  of  Israel :  for  they  are  dead  which 
sought  the  young  child's  life. 

"  '  And  he  arose,  and  took  the  young  child  and  his 
mother,  and  came  into  the  land  of  Israel. 

"  '  Being  warned  of  God  in  a  dream,  he  turned  aside 
into  the  parts  of  Galilee  : 

"  '  And  he  came  and  dwelt  in  a  city  called  Nazareth  : 
that  it  might  be  fulfilled  which  was  spoken  by  the 
prophets.  He  shall  be  called  a  Nazarene.'  ' 

"  Nazarene  !  "  Rizpah  ejaculated,  interrupting  the 
reader.  "  Does  the  word  not  taste  like  wormwood, 
girl?" 

The  maiden  replied,  adroitly :  "  We  read  the  pagan 
inscriptions  on  the  monuments  about  us  without 
being  harmed  !  Surely  we  may  safely  read  these 
nobler  peoples'  words  and  deeds."  So  saying,  the 
maiden  continued  : 

"  '  Now  his  parents  went  to  Jerusalem  every  year  at 
the  feast  of  the  passover. 

"  '  And  when  He  was  twelve  years  old,  they  went  up 
to  Jerusalem  after  the  custom  of  the  feast. 


324  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"'And  when  they  had  fulfilled  the  days,  as  they  re 
turned,  the  child  Jesus  tarried  behind  in  Jerusalem  ; 
and  Joseph  and  His  mother  knew  not  of  it. 

"  ;  But  they,  supposing  Him  to  have  been  in  the  com 
pany,  went  a  day's  journey;  and  they  sought  Him 
among  thevr  kinsfolk  and  acquaintance. 

" '  And  when  they  found  Him  not,  they  turned  back 
again  to  Jerusalem,  seeking  Him. 

"'And  it  came  to  pass  that  after  three  days  they 
found  Him  in  the  temple,  sitting  in  the  midst  of  the 
doctors,  both  hearing  them,  and  asking  them  questions. 

"  '  And  all  that  heard  Him  were  astonished  at  His  un 
derstanding  and  answers. 

"  'And  when  they  saw  Him,  they  were  amazed  :  and 
His  mother  said  unto  Him,  Son,  why  hast  thou  thus 
dealt  with  us  ?  Behold,  Thy  father  and  I  have  sought 
Thee  sorrowing. 

" '  And  He  said  unto  them,  How  is  it  that  ye  sought 
me?  Wist  ye  not  that  I  must  be  about  my  Father's 
business  ?" 

"That  was  rude,  was  it  not,  daughter?  Was  not  his 
father's  business  his  mother's  ?  He  was  young  for  such 
philosophy,  so  like  that  of  tyrant  husband." 

"  He  meant  God's  business  !  " 

"  Then  his  earnestness  was  just.  God  first,  kin 
after — mother  or  husband — say  I.  Did  the  mother 
gain-say  him  ?" 

"It  is  thus  recorded,"  replied  the  maiden. 

"'And  they  understood  not  the  saying  which  He 
spake  unto  them. 

"'And  he  went  down  with  them,  and  came  to  Naza« 
reth,  and  was  subject  unto  them:  but  his  mother  kcpf 
ail  these  sayings  in  her  heart. 


The  Shadow  of  the  Cross.  325 

"'And  He  increased  in  wisdom  and  stature,  and  in 
favor  with  God  and  man.'  ' 

"  Daughter,  there  was  a  fine  spirit  in  that  house ;  it 
was  enhaloed  by  the  girl-wife's  character!  No  wonder 
that  the  son  increased  in  favor  with  God  and  man  ! 
He  was  able  to  cope  with  the  doctors  mentally,  yet 
subjected  himself  to  his  mother.  I'll  certify  that  he 
was  wonderfully  like  his  mother.  The  traits  of  the 
woman  that  bore  him  are  prominent  in  every  man  of 
fine  measure." 

"And  are  fine  daughters,  like  their  fathers,"  laugh 
ingly  questioned  Miriamne,  as  she  glanced  at  a  reflec 
tion  of  herself  in  a  metalic  mirror  suspended  on  the 
wall  before  her. 

"Ah,  that  depends  on  whether  they  have  wholesome 
fathers."  Then,  turning  her  eyes  affectionately  toward 
her  daughter,  Rizpah  continued  :  "  Thou  hast  enough 
of  Hebrew  in  thee  to  leaven  thee.  Yet,  let  me  plant 
this  in  thy  memory,  my  lamb,  destined  most  likely 
some  time  to  lie  in  anguish  on  the  altar  of  maternity: 
Mothers  determine  beyond  all  else  the  fate  of  the  world 
by  determining  beyond  all  else  the  characters  of  their 
offspring.  Yea,  girl,  in  the  homes  of  industry,  the  bugle- 
calls  of  the  soldier,  the  moving  orations  of  the  holy 
teacher,  there  are  ever  heard  echoes  of  their  cradle 
days."  Rizpah  paused,  drew  a  long  sigh,  and  again 
broke  forth :  "  But,  alas  !  men  and  women  walk  in 
pairs.  How  can  the  gentler  of  the  two,  alone,  or 
opposed  by  the  stronger,  succeed?  I've  seen  paired 
birds  battle  the  sly  serpent,  creeping  toward  their  bird- 
lings,  victoriously;  paired  weakness  triumphant  over 
huge  danger;  and  I've  seen  the  lords  of  creation  drop 
ping  serpents  upon  their  own  mates  and  their  own 


326  The  Queen  of 'the  House  of  David. 

nestlings  !  If  one  would  find  a  monstrous  cruelty,  he 
must  needs  seek  in  human  homes  !  "  Then  the  speaker, 
pausing,  bowed  herself,  and  sat  swaying  from  side  to 
side,  with  her  hands  over  her  eyes.  Miriamne,  accus 
tomed  to  such  action  on  her  mother's  part,  and  know 
ing  it  was  best  when  she  was  in  such  moods  to  leave 
her  to  herself,  withdrew  quietly.  Yet,  Rizpah  seemed 
not  alone  to  herself,  for  her  mind  was  peopled  with 
ghostly  forms  from  her  gloomy  past ;  all  painful  com 
panions,  but  still  courted  by  the  woman  in  her  periods 
of  morbidness.  Presently  she  slept  ;  the  sleep  of  sor 
row,  that  mercy  balm  of  nature  which  comes  to  pained 
or  wounded  humanity  as  the  power  to  grieve  or  ache 
is  exhausted.  The  sleeper  passed  from  consciousness 
of  things  about  her,  followed  by  the  forms  that  had 
haunted  her  memory,  and  was  soon  among  the  wonders 
of  dream  land.  Then  came  to  her  the  sound  of 
mighty  contentions,  and  it  seemed  as  if  opposing  forces 
were  in  conflict  concerning  herself.  Rizpah,  of  the 
ancient,  seemed  to  be  trying  to  drag  the  dreamer 
toward  seven  crosses  supporting  seven  stark  forms. 
The  babel  of  contending  voices  was  silenced  by  others, 
exu  ting,  as  if  in  victory.  There  was  a  change;  the 
sleeper  seemed  to  be  lifted  up  from  caverns  unutterably 
deep,  and  suffocating,  upon  a  ruby  cloud,  soft  as  down  to 
the  touch,  but  irresistible  in  uplifting.  She  was  borne 
swif!  ly,  over  vast  realms  of  space,  toward  a  golden 
gate  way  with  tomb-like  arch,  whose  cross-shaped 
portal  swung  invitingly  open.  A  river  of  light  spread 
ing  to  a  sea,  and  vibrating  with  sense-entrancing 
melody,  flowed  outward  through  the  mighty  gate-way. 
On  either  side  of  the  portals,  and  moving  along  the 
river,  were  many  glorious  beings.  The  latter  soared 


The  Shadow  of  the  Cross.  327 

on  wings  of  mighty  sweep,  whose  motions  seemed  to 
beat  in  accord  with  the  melody  of  the  flowing  light, 
while,  from  within  and  without  the  gate-way,  there  came 
the  sound  of  countless  voices,  all,  as  it  were,  mingling 
in  the  triumphant  swellings  of  a  grand  anthem.  The 
dreamer  discerned  in  the  anthem  two  words,  repeated 
over  and  over,  tirelessly:  "  Glad  Tidings!1'  "Glad 
Tidings  !  "  "  Glad  Tidings  !  "  The  golden  gate  became 
rose-tinted  ;  the  color  deepening  to  purple  and  gold 
as  down  the  stream  of  light  there  floated  an  island  of 
gardens,  and  on  the  island  appeared  two  human  forms; 
a  youth  and  a  maiden.  The  anthem  "  Glad  Tidings" 
continued  ;  but  sweeter,  louder,  deeper  than  before. 
And  the  sleeper  perceived  that  on  the  wings  of  the 
glorious  beings  there  were  emblems;  red  crosses,  about 
each  cross  a  ring  of  fire  ;  above  the  crosses,  bejeweled 
silver  cups  ;  then  she  knew  that  the  twain  on  the  island 
were  bride  and  groom.  The  scene  changed  ;  there  was 
a  consciousness  of  a  flight  of  time.  She  looked  again, 
and  on  the  island  she  beheld  a  mother  lovingly  bend 
ing  over  a  babe  ;  over  mother  and  babe  tenderly  bended 
a  man,  by  the  pride  and  the  affection  he  expressed, 
attesting  himself  the  husband  and  father.  Rizpah  was 
enraptured,  and  in  her  <3ream  she  prayed  the  scene 
might  tarry.  She  was  nigli  being  envious  of  that 
happy  mother.  But  her  prayer  was  denied  her,  for 
soon  she  was  startled  by  a  voice  at  her  side,  saying,  in 
tones  of  mournful  rebuke  :  "  Farewell,  forever!  " 

The  dreamer,  looking  about,  beheld  in  her  vision,  her 
ideal,  Rizpah  ;  but  the  latter  was  wonderfully  changed. 
Her  eyes  were  dim  and  sunken  ;  her  form  dwarfed, 
bowed  and  age-shriveled.  Suddenly  the  whole  vision 
faded  into  thin  air,  and  Rizpah,  of  Bozrah,  awakened 


328  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

filled  with  condemnation.  Before  she  fully  realized 
that  she  had  been  dreaming,  she  cried  out: 
"  Rizpah,  oh,  Rizpah,  tarry  a  moment  !  " 
Silence  was  her  sole  reply.  Little  by  little,  as  she 
collected  her  thoughts,  she  comprehended  that  her 
vision,  while  sleeping,  expressed  the  facts  of  her  life 
while  waking.  The  heroine  girl-wife  of  Nazareth,  the 
newer,  finer,  surer,  truer  ideal  of  womanhood,  was 
demolishing  in  the  mind  of  the  woman  of  Bozrah  her 
former  idol,  the  lioness  of  Gibeah's  hill.  She  knew 
this,  for  she  found  herself  contrasting  the  two  ideals, 
and  in  mind  lingering  by  preference  and  with  the 
greater  delight  about  conceptions  of  the  younger. 
Then  began  the  struggles  of  the  giants  in  her  con 
science  ;  clean  truth  against  hoar  prejudices;  sweet 
mercy  against  bitter  revenge ;  Mary  of  Bethlehem 
against  Rizpah  of  Gibeah.  The  matron  of  Bozrah, 
usually  hitherto  so  self-sufficient,  was  changing.  She 
felt  that  yearning  inevitable  in  the  career  of  most 
women  for  a  confidant.  She  could  not  sleep ;  she 
could  not  now  go  down  to  get  inspiration  by  standing 
before  the  grim  Rizpah-painting,  in  the  lower  room ; 
she  was  miserable,  lonely  and  restless. 

Mechanically,  she  moved  toward  her  daughter's  cham 
ber,  some  way  feeling  that  even  a  sleeper  would  be 
company  to  one  so  lonely  as  herself.  Rizpah,  alone, 
at  night,  in  the  grim,  giant  house,  groping  her  way 
toward  Miriamne's  sleeping  place,  was  unconsciously 
illustrating  her  soul's  quest.  She  was  in  heart  seeking 
alone,  and  in  the  dark,  some  one  to  take  the  place  of 
her  demolished  ideal.  Had  the  queen  of  women  been 
there,  in  person,  Rizpah,  then,  would  have  welcomed 
her.  She  groped  her  way  to  the  maiden's  couch,  feel- 


The  Shadow  of  the  Cross.  329 

ing  that,  as  she  believed,  her  daughter  was  pure  and 
good  and  loving.  Could  the  matron  have  analyzed  her 
own  feelings,  she  would  have  found  that  she  was  in 
part  led  toward  Miriamne  because  the  latter  some 
way  seemed  like,  or  near  to,  the  girl-wife  who  was  sup 
planting  in  the  heart  of  Rizpah  of  Bozrah,  the  wild 
Rizpah  of  Gibeah.  A  cloud  passing  let  a  flood  of 
silvering  moonlight  full  on  the  sleeper's  couch,  and 
Rizpah,  feasting  her  eyes,  murmured :  "  I  wonder 
if  that  woman  of  Bethlehem  were  not  very  like  this 
maiden  ?  "  As  the  mother  gazed  on  her  offspring  she 
presently  began  noting  features  in  the  sleeper's  face 
that  reminded  her  of  the  absent  father  and  husband. 
She  recalled  him  as  he  appeared  under  the  palms  that 
night  at  Purim,  and  as  he  was  that  day  he  lay  pale  and 
bleeding  in  her  all-giving  arms.  The  whole  past,  that 
was  delightful,  came  trooping  up,  and  with  it  there 
came  the  full  light  of  an  old  love  revived  ;  a  renaissance 
of  that  she  had  supposed  buried  forever.  Soon  the 
aged  woman,  all  youthful  again  within,  was  mentally 
in  hot  chase  after  the  pleasure  she  had  parted  from  so 
hastily  long  years  before.  She  was  glad  of  her  thoughts, 
for  they  were  rejoicing;  glad  she  was  alone,  for  the 
thoughts  seemed  sacred.  It  was  no  use,  had  she  willed, 
to  resist ;  so  she  just  gave  up  to  the  impulse,  and  with 
a  half-suppressed  cry,  passionately  twined  her  arms 
about  the  sleeping  girl,  and  covered  the  face  of  the 
latter  with  burning  kisses. 

The  maiden  started  up  in  affright,  breaking  the  spell 
that  swayed  her  mother,  but  only  in  part  at  first. 
Rizpah  was  almost  angered  by  the  awakening,  which 
caused  the  vision  her  soul  was  embracing  to  take  swift 
flight.  Her  first  glance  seemed  to  say  to  the  now 


330  TJie  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

awakened  girl :  "  Begone,  intruder  !  Leave  me  for  a 
time  alone  with—  "  but  she  recovered  herself,  and  was 
silent.  Yet  her  mind  ran  on  after  the  vision.  She  had 
not  been  embracing  the  girl,  but  the  girl's  father,  in 
heart.  Had  he  happened  there  then,  he  would  have 
been  all-forgiven,  all-welcome.  So  wonderful  the  heart 
of  one  capable  of  deep  loving  as  well  as  deep  hating; 
so  wonderful  the  nature  of  such  a  woman  as  Rizpah, 
when  her  emotions,  aroused,  spread  their  throbbing 
pinions  to  soar  at  the  behest  of  revived  affection. 
"Human  passion,"  sneeringly  some  may  say,  and 
truly.  But  human  passion  is  a  gift  of  grace.  When 
it  travels  along  right  lines,  it  quickens  the  one  enriched 
by  it  to  the  noblest  deeds.  He  whose  name  is  Love 
came  to  earth  through  the  Incarnation  to  show  the 
splendor  of  human  affection,  working  at  its  best  in  the 
kingdom  of  its  finest  displays — the  home  circle.  The 
fate  of  Eden  made  men  believe  a  lie,  but  Bethlehem 
refuted  that  lie  for  all  time.  Rizpah  turned  bitterly 
from  the  fiery,  disappointing  love  she  had  experienced 
to  stamp  all  loving,  except  parent  love,  a  mockery. 
She  had  nursed  her  false  creed,  and  suppressed  her  rebel 
heart  by  adoration  of  the  wintry  ideal  of  Gibeah. 
Now  she  was  touched  by  a  new  influence,  and  it  was  to 
her  as  the  touch  of  spring  to  winter-prisoned  nature. 
For  a  few  moments  daughter  and  mother  contemplated 
each  other;  the  one  as  if  dreaming,  the  other  full  of 
wilderment.  Then  the  former  quietly  said:  "I've 
been  very  nervous  to-night.  I'm  quieter  now,  and  will 
go  to  rest.  Sweet  dreams  follow  thee,  daughter." 

The  maiden  composed  herself  to  sleep,  and  the  elder 
woman  passed  out  of  the  room.  The  latter,  in  going, 
perceived  on  the  floor-slab  a  parchment,  and  bore  it 


The  Shadow  of  the  Cross,  331 

away  with  her.  She  said  within  herself  as  she  did  so: 
"  It  is  best  for  Miriamne  that  I  know  of  her  reading." 
But,  after  all,  she  was  very  curious  to  know  all  about 
the  new  matter,  of  which  she  had  recently  heard  a 
part,  on  her  own  account.  The  writing,  that  of  a  mas 
culine  hand,  ran  as  follows  : 

"  MIRIAMNE  : — As  I  promised,  I  have  herein  recorded,  for 
the  help  of  thy  memory,  further  facts  about  the  Bethlehem 
Mother,  MARY.  Keeping  constantly  in  heart  the  wonderful 
words  of  the  angel  Gabriel,  she  followed  with  constancy  the 
wanderings  of  her  Son  as  He  went  forth  to  heal  and  preach. 
She  heard  with  pride  and  joy  that  a  Dove  of  Peace  from 
heaven  overshadowed  Him  at  His  baptism  in  Jordan  ;  but 
immediately  she  was  plunged  into  anxiety,  for  he  disap 
peared  from  the  haunts  of  men  in  a  prolonged  absence. 
This  was  during  the  time  of  His  temptation  in  the  wilderness. 
He  returned  to  gladden  her,  but  immediately  set  forth  to  new 
trials,  labors  and  dangers.  The  young  Miracle-Worker  was 
denounced  and  driven  from  among  the  people  of  His  youth. 
Tradition  points  to  the  very  place  where  his  mother  fell 
fainting,  when  she  saw  the  people  of  Nazareth  dragging  her 
Son  to  a  precipice  by  the  city,  with  intent  to  cast  Him  down 
to  death.  At  that  place  of  the  mother's  overcoming  the 
Empress  Helena  builded  the  sanctuary  called  the  '  Church  of 
the  Terror.'  But  that  loyal  mother  never  wavered  in  her 
allegiance  to  her  Son,  but,  shortly  after  these  things  formally, 
publicly,  bravely,  received  baptism  at  His  hands  in  Jordan, 
at  Bethabara.  Indeed,  this  act  on  her  part  evinced  not  only 
the  faith  of  a  disciple,  but  the  zeal  of  motherhood  ;  her 
Son's  cause  seemed  to  be  failing,  and  she  espoused  it  to 
strengthen  it  in  its  most  trying  hour.  She  was  willing  to 
dare  all  things  to  win  for  her  Beloved  a  possible  gain,  how 
ever  small. 

"  The  gathering  storm  grew  darker  about  the  Carpenter's 
Son,  and  the  leaders  of  the  people  were  planning  His  destruc 
tion  ;  but  He  pursued  his  work  of  healing  and  teaching 
serenely  ;  His  mother  constantly  hovering  near  him  to  en 
courage  Him.  She  heard  that  John  the  Baptist,  son  of 
Elizabeth,  the  herald  of  her  own  Child,  had  been  slain  be 
cause  he  had  been  true  to  God.  The  harlots  of  the  Court 


332  TJie  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

of  He:-od  had  procured  John's  death,  because  that  holy  man 
had  rebuked  their  vices.  But  even  this  shocking  event  did 
not  overawe  the  mother  of  the  Founder  of  the  New  Kingdom. 
She  stood  in  splendid  contrast  with  the  murderers  of  the 
prophet.  It  was  purity,  almost  single-handed,  against  lust 
corseleted  by  the  nation  ;  two  phalanxes  ;  one  of  few,  the 
other  of  many  ;  but,  as  common  in  this  world,  each  led  by 
a  woman.  Mary,  like  a  parent  bird  fluttering  over  her 
nestling,  sought  by  the  fowler,  hovered  around  her  off 
spring.  She  exemplified  the  finest,  fullest  utterance  of 
faith,  '  Jusus  only,'  by  determining  to  break  up  the  home  in 
Nazareth,  in  order  that  all  the  family  might  keep  near  the 
beloved  One  in  His  journeys.  So  it  happened  that  when  He 
was  near  Capernaum,  working  Himself  nigh  unto  death, 
they  visited  Him  to  persuade  Him  to  rest.  Of  this  it  is 
written  : 

1  While  He  yet  talked  to  the  people,  behold,  His  mother 
and  His  brethren  stood  without,  desiring  to  speak  with 
Him. 

'  Then  one  said  unto  Him,  Behold,  thy  motJicr  and  Thy 
brethren  stand  without,  desiring  to  speak  with  Thee. 

'  But  He  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Who  is  my 
mother  f  and  zvho  are  my  brethren  ? 

'  A  nd  He  stretched  forth  His  hand  tozvard  His  dis 
ciples,  and  said,  Behold  my  mother  and  my  brethren  ! 

'  For  ^v  ho  so  ever  shall  do  the  will  of  my  Father  which  is 
in  heaven,  the  same  is  my  brother,  and  sister,  and  mother' 

"To  all  He  herein  proclaimed  the  doctrines  of  His  king 
dom,  self-denial,  and  though  the  words  seem  harsh,  they  were 
most  kind,  for  by  them  He  said,  as  it  were,  to  His  disciples  : 
'  Behold  these  all-sacrificing  relatives  of  mine  are  twice  rela 
ted  to  me;  by  blood  and  by  sufferings.'  It  was,  on  Jesus' part, 
a  public  adoption  of  His  own  family.  As  He  had  been  pub 
licly  adopted  from  on  high  when  He  typically  submitted  to 
death  in  His  baptism,  so  when  He  beheld  His  mother,  having 
forsaken  all  to  be  with  Him,  he  proclaimed  those  that  had 
elected  to  share  His  sufferings  His  kin  indeed.  The  sword 
of  His  suffering  bitterly  wounded  her  when  the  :;.bble  howled 


The  Shadoiv  of.  the  Cross.  333 

after  the  Healer,  "  Thou  wast  born  in  fornication."  But  He, 
amid  all  His  engrossments,  never  forgot  to  minister  to  His 
mother  as  a  courtly,  reverent,  loving  Son.  These  words  of 
a  holy  book  not  only  speak  of  the  workings  of  the  provi 
dence  of  God,  but  assure  us  that  He  that  uttered  them  was 
prompted  to  comfort  His  own  widowed  mother  :  '  But  I  tell 
you  of  a  truth,  many  widows  were  in  Israel  in  the  days  of 
Elias,  when  the  heaven  was  shut  up  three  years  and  six 
months,  when  great  famine  was  throughout  all  the  land  ; 

"  '  But  unto  none  of  them  was  Elias  sent,  save  unto  Sa- 
repta,  a  city  of  Sidon,  unto  a  woman  that  was  a  widow.' 

"  And  now  for  the  present  I  close  with  all  holy  salutations. 

"A.  VON  G." 

Rizpah  was  so  engrossed  with  the  matter  of  the  let 
ter  that  she  scarcely  observed  the  initials  at  its  end. 
As  she  turned  the  letter  over  there  fell  into  her  lap  a 
pictured  parchment.  It  represented  a  woman,  half 
kneeling  and  with  arms  outstretched  toward  a  beauti 
ful  child,  the  latter  balancing,  and,  as  it  were,  taking  a 
first  lesson  in  walking.  "That  woman's  face  is  some 
way  very  like  that  of  my  Mariamne's  in  beauty  and 
thoughtfulness,"  soliloquized  Rizpah.  Then  observing 
a  tent  in  the  picture,  at  one  side  and  under  the  tent, 
the  form  of  a  strong,  dignified  man,  she  again  scrutin- 
izingly  exclaimed,  "In  truth,  that  face  is  Harrimai's! 
How  like  my  father!  "  For  some  time  she  sat  consid 
ering  the  group,  and  then  again  spoke  to  herself :  "Ah, 
I  see,  these  are  none  other  than  the  girl  wife,  husband 
and  child  of  whom  Mariamne  has  been  reading!  But 
what  an  improper  legend  at  the  bottom  ?  'A  sword 
shall  pierce  through  thine  own  soul  also  !  '  A  sword  has 
no  place  in  that  happy  group  !  "  And  Rizpah  still 
gazed  at  the  charming  presentment.  Suddenly  she 
started  from  her  seat.  "What's  this  ?"  she  cried  as 
she  traced  a  dark  cross  made  by  the  shadow  of  the 


TJie  Shadow  o/  the  Cross.  333 

after  the  Healer,  "  Thou  wast  born  in  fornication."  But  He, 
amid  all  His  engrossments,  never  forgot  to  minister  to  His 
mother  as  a  courtly,  reverent,  loving  Son.  These  words  of 
a  holy  book  not  only  speak  of  the  workings  of  the  provi 
dence  of  God,  but  assure  us  that  He  that  uttered  them  was 
prompted  to  comfort  His  own  widowed  mother  :  '  But  I  tell 
you  of  a  truth,  many  widows  were  in  Israel  in  the  days  of 
Elias,  when  the  heaven  was  shut  up  three  years  and  six 
months,  when  great  famine  was  throughout  all  the  land  ; 

"  '  But  unto  none  of  them  was  Elias  sent,  save  unto  Sa- 
repta,  a  city  of  Sidon,  unto  a  woman  that  was  a  widow.' 

"  And  now  for  the  present  I  close  with  all  holy  salutations. 

"A.  VON  G." 

Rizpah  was  so  engrossed  with  the  matter  of  the  let 
ter  that  she  scarcely  observed  the  initials  at  its  end. 
As  she  turned  the  letter  over  there  fell  into  her  lap  a 
pictured  parchment.  It  represented  a  woman,  half 
kneeling  and  with  arms  outstretched  toward  a  beauti 
ful  child,  the  latter  balancing,  and,  as  it  were,  taking  a 
first  lesson  in  walking.  "That  woman's  face  is  some 
way  very  like  that  of  my  Mariamnc's  in  beauty  and 
thoughtfulness,"  soliloquized  Rizpah.  Then  observing 
a  tent  in  the  picture,  at  one  side  and  under  the  tent, 
the  form  of  a  strong,  dignified  man,  she  again  scrutin- 
izingly  exclaimed,  "In  truth,  that  face  is  Harrimai's! 
How  like  my  father!  "  For  some  time  she  sat  consid 
ering  the  group,  and  then  again  spoke  to  herself:  "Ah, 
I  see,  these  are  none  other  than  the  girl  wife,  husband 
and  child  of  whom  Mariamne  has  been  reading!  But 
what  an  improper  legend  at  the  bottom  ?  'A  sivord 
shall  pierce  tlirougJi  thine  own  soul  also  !  '  A  sword  has 
no  place  in  that  happy  group  !  "  And  Rizpah  still 
gazed  at  the  charming  presentment.  Suddenly  she 
started  from  her  seat.  "  What's  this  ?  "  she  cried  as 
she  traced  a  dark  cross  made  by  the  shadow  of  the 


334  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

child's  outstretched  arms  and  reaching  from  his  feet  to 
the  mother's  bending  knees.  "  I  have  it  now  ;  the  cross 
is  the  sword  !  Some  of  the  Nazarene  heresy,  the  witch 
ery  of  the  '  Old  Clock  Man  !  '  "  Rizpah  flung  the  picture 
from  her  as  if  it  were  a  serpent.  She  thought  she  saw 
a  paramount  duty,  and  without  an  instant  of  delay  she 
hastened  back  to  Miriamne,  this  time  in  angry  mood — 
Rizpah  of  Bozrah,  the  fanatical  Nemesis  of  heresy. 

"  Here,  girl !     Whence  this  book  of  devils  !  " 

Miriamne,  in  fright,  leaped  from  her  couch,  and 
Rizpah,  laying  hold  of  her  arm,  half  dragged  the  be 
wildered,  trembling  girl  to  the  adjacent  apartment. 
"  These  ?  "  imperiously  questioned  Rizpah,  as  she 
pointed  vehemently  toward  picture  and  manuscript 
lying  together  on  the  floor. 

The  maiden,  overcome  by  the  suddenness  of  the 
stormy  outbreak,  spoke  tremblingly,  pleadingly : 

"  Oh,  mother,  forgive  me  if  I've  done  wrong  !  Father 
Adolphus,  the  old  — 

"Oh,  yes,  the  old  wizzard  !  he  gave  them  to  thee," 
interrupted  the  mother.  "  Enough  !  'tis  as  I  ex 
pected  ;  the  Christian's  doctrine  of  devils  !  " 

Miriamne  reached  forth,  mechanically,  to  take  the 
denounced  objects,  but  Rizpah  at  once  intercepted  her, 
spurning  them  with  her  foot. 

"  Don't  touch  the  leprosy !  To-morrow  we'll  hire 
some  Druses  beggars  to  burn  them  !  " 

"  But,  mother,  they  are  not  ours ;  we  must  return  at 
least  the  painting  ;  it  cost  great  labor  !  " 

"  Leave  that  to  me !  Now,  further  and  finally  for 
thee,  rash  girl,  I've  commands.  Listen  !  Thou  art 
never  again  to  meet  or  speak  to  that  hoary-headed  old 
wizzard,  Von  Gombard." 


The  Shadow  of  the  Cross.  335 

"  But,  mother—" 

"  No  evasion  nor  compromise  !  " 

''I  can  not  treat  the  kind  old  man  that  way.  He  is 
so  good,  and  all  the  people,  Jews  and  Gentiles,  love 
him,"  pleaded  Miriamne. 

"  Enough  !  and,  in  brief,  meet  him  or  speak  to  him 
again,  and  I'll  disown  thee !  I'd  drive  thee,  daughter 
of  mine  though  thou  art,  out  of  my  home  to  starva 
tion  and  pray  God  to  send  all  the  plagues  written  in 
His  book  to  haunt  thee,  while  thy  life  remained,  rather 
than  tolerate  heresy!" 

So  saying,  Rizpah  fell  upon  her  knees,  as  if  even 
then  to  utter  an  imprecation. 

In  terror  the  daughter  ran  to  her,  and  shielding  her 
eyes  from  the  parent's  anger-distorted  countenance, 
she  pitifully  cried  : 

"Mother!  Oh,  mother!  Don't  curse  me!  Save 
me!  save  me  !  " 

The  elder  woman's  body  swayed  and  dilated  as  if 
she  were  possessed  of  some  furious  demon,  checked 
and  muzzled,  but  struggling  to  break  forth.  Evi 
dently  the  pathos  of  the  daughter's  appeal  touched 
some  responding  chord  of  mercy,  for  the  mother  re 
strained  herself  and  then  suddenly  arose  and  swept 
out  of  the  bed-chamber.  And  yet  Miriamne  was  not 
reassured ;  she  felt  the  fascination  of  dread.  With 
trembling  her  eyes  were  riveted  on  the  open  door;  her 
ears  heard  the  heavy,  stately,  threatening,  departing 
footsteps,  and  great  misery  overwhelmed  her.  She 
felt,  if  she  could  not  express  it,  that  the  breakers  of  a 
mighty  wrath  were  heaving  and  tossing  in  that  bosom 
on  which  she  had  hitherto  rested  when  in  pain  or 
peril.  She  knew  the  meanings  of  those  wavy  motions, 


336  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

so  like  those  of  the  boa  retiring  for  renewed  attack 
She  saw  them  passing  up  and  down  the  form  of  Riz- 
pah  as  the  latter  went  out,  her  eyes  burning,  her  body 
dilating.  She  had  observed  these  things  in  her  parent 
before,  but  never  as  now  directed  toward  herself. 

In  terror  and  anguish  Miriamne  fled  out  of  the  old 
Giant-house.  There  was  relief  and  a  sense  of  getting 
more  truly  under  the  sheltering  wings  of  God  in  get 
ting  out  under  the  serene  canopy  of  heaven.  So,  often, 
the  grief-stricken  seek  solitude,  absence  from  all  that 
has  crossed  and  hurt,  separation  from  all  earthly,  in  a 
lonely  appeal  to  the  Holy  and  Loving.  And  so  these 
two  women,  bound  to  each  other  by  the  strongest  hu 
man  ties,  needing,  because  of  their  isolation,  each  other 
supremely;  after  all,  loving  each  other  with  a  choice, 
tried  love,  willing  each  to  endure  any  cross,  even  unto 
death,  for  the  other's  weal,  and  both  anxious  to  serve 
God  loyally,  went  apart.  They  exemplified  the  cross- 
purposes  and  misunderstandings  that  beset  and  mar 
life's  pilgrims.  They  needed  sorely,  both  of  them, 
pilot  and  beacon  ;  some  one  to  inspire  as  well  as  to 
exemplify  all  that  is  best  in  womanhood.  The  need 
was  patent,  but  the  remedy  but  dimly  discerned. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  MISERERE  AND  THE  EASTER  ANTHEM, 

"Under  the  shade  of  His  mighty  wings, 

One  by  one 
Are  His  secrets  told, 

One  by  one. 

Lit  by  the  rays  of  each  morning  sun, 
Shall  a  new  flower  its  petals  unfold, 
With  its  mystery  hid  in  its  heart  of  gold." 

"  But  even  unto  this  day,  when  Moses  is  read,  the  veil  is  upo* 
their  heart.  Nevertheless,  when  it  shall  turn  to  the  Lord  the  veft 
shall  be  taken  away." — u  Cor.,  3:  15. 


IDNIGHT  and  moonlight  were  in  Bozrah, 
and  midnight  and  moonlight  were  ii? 
Miriamne's  heart  as  she  wandered  out  intc 
the  city.  She  did  not  see  her  way  furthet 
than  to  know  it  must  be  some  direction  other  than 
toward  her  home.  That  place  all  her  life  hitherto  the 
dearest  spot  on  earth,  was  become  her  dread.  Aj 
she  moved  away  from  it  she  did  not  look  back.  It 
seemed  to  her  that  there  was  an  angry  cloud 
enveloping  it ;  a  cloud  holding  a  furious  thunderbolt. 
As  she  went  on,  she  rapidly  passed  through  a  series  oi 
painful  feelings  ;  those  that  naturally  beset  the  run. 
away  girl.  First  she  felt  very  reckless,  then,  surprised 
at  her  recklessness,  then  very  lonely  as  if  every  tie 
that  bound  her  was  broken,  and  then  affrighted  as  she 


338  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

thought  of  confronting  the  great,  strange,  selfish  world 
alone.  A  woman  so  young  and  so  inexperienced  ;  a 
bird  with  half-fledged  wings,  thrust  out  of  the  parent 
nest  into  a  storm;  altogether  a  pitiable  creature.  In 
the  moonlight  of  her  conscience,  after  a  time,  she 
dimly  discerned  a  line  of  duty.  It  seemed  to  her  that 
it  were  best  for  her  to  turn  toward  the  church  of 
Adoiphus,  and  she  resolutely  turned  thither.  Before 
the  resolution  she  had  walked  aimlessly ;  now  with 
an  aim  and  with  some  soul  comfort.  She  did  not 
have  power  to  analyze  her  feelings ;  had  she  had 
such  power  she  might  have  discerned  the  fact  that 
she  was  turning  toward  something  her  reason  told  her 
was  very  good,  therefore  the  soul  comfort  came  as  the 
harbinger  of  conversion.  As  yet  the  moonlight  within, 
like  that  without,  was  not  strong  enough  to  resolve  the 
shadows  in  and  about  her.  She  knew,  and  that  alone, 
certainly,  that  she  was  miserable,  wounded,  bruised. 
So  storm-beaten,  in  a  flight  from  the  ancient  Rizpah 
and  her  counterpart,  Rizpah  of  Bozrah,  the  maiden 
naturally  turned  toward  the  place  where  there  seemed 
rest,  escape  ;  the  haven  known  to  all  the  troubled  and 
sick  of  the  Giant  city.  With  a  great  throb  of  joy  she 
at  length  drew  nigh  the  Church  of  Adoiphus.  All 
was  silent  about  it;  but  its  up-pointing  spire,  emblert 
of  eternal,  aspiring  hope,  rest  on  a  rock,  stability— in 
grand  contrast  with  the  g /im  ruins  God's  revenges  had 
scattered  in  dire  confusion  all  around,  assured  her. 
She  remembered  then  that  she  had  heard  some  say 
that  they  had  been  blessed  beyond  all  telling,  in  hours 
of  trouble,  by  the  services  of  that  sanctuary.  She  per 
ceived  that  the  church,  from  spire  to  portal,  was 
flooded  with  silvering  moonlight,  while  all  beyond  and 


The  Miserere  and  the  Easter  Anthem.         339 

around  it  was  in  shadows  ;  then  she  wearily  sank  down 
by  a  small  porch  near  the  great  entrance.  As  she 
sank  she  moaned  a  broken  prayer :  "  Oh,  God,  take 
me  !  "  Utterly  overcome,  she  wished  for  a  moment  for 
death's  release ;  and  death's  similitude,  fainting,  some 
times  sent  in  mercy,  came  over  her.  How  long  she 
lay  unconscious,  she  knew  not.  She  was  suddenly 
aroused  by  the  stroke  of  a  muffled  bell ;  she  opened 
her  eyes  and  beheld  forms  gliding  out  of  the  darkness 
into  the  chapel.  For  a  moment  she  felt  a  superstitious 
fear  that  chilled  her.  She  vaguely  remembered  that 
that  bell  had  been  wont  to  toll  thus  solemnly  when 
there  was  a  funeral.  Simultaneous  with  the  thought 
she  questioned,  Was  she  herself  dead  ?  But  she 
quickly  collected  her  thoughts  and  then  comprehended 
that  there  was  to  be  a  midnight  service  in  the  c\  apel. 
She  remembered  that  Father  Adolphus  was  wont  to 
have  such,  at  intervals.  She  longed  to  taste  the  joys 
within  of  which  she  had  heard,  and  was  at  the  same 
time  restrained,  lest  by  entering  she  should  in  some 
way  part  from  her  mother  and  the  faith  of  her  child 
hood  forever.  Conscience  and  desire  waged  war  with 
each  other,  and  the  girl  was  too  much  excited  to  stand 
still  or  to  reason  clearly.  She,  therefore,  mechanically 
moved  through  the  open  doors  with  the  throng,  out 
of  the  darkness  into  the  light.  Once  within  the 
place  the  grateful  sense  of  peace  and  the  splendors  of 
the  various  appointments,  beyond  all  she  had  ever 
before  experienced,  engrossed  all  her  thoughts.  The 
lofty  arches,  the  well  wrought  pillars,  the  niches,  in 
which  were  here  and  there  saintly  paintings,  the  lights, 
disposed  so  as  to  produce  an  impression  of  seriousness 
and  rest,  the  hum  of  subdued  voices,  all  came  to  her 


340  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

as  balm.  At  the  east  she  beheld  a  silver  altar,  velvet 
draped;  on  either  side  of  it  lofty  columns  with  golden 
plinths  and  capitals;  just  back  of  the  altar,  in  a  light 
that  made  the  face  of  the  presentment  more  beautiful, 
she  discerned  the  image  of  a  woman,  splendidly 
robed  and  jewel-crowned.  For  a  moment  she  thought 
she  was  looking  upon  one  living,  for  the  crowned 
woman  was  so  beautiful,  so  much  a  part  of  the  place, 
and  seemed  so  inviting.  She  contrasted  her,  in  mind, 
with  the  terrible  picture  of  Rizpah.  Just  then,  with 
little  persuasion,  she  could  have  run  toward  the 
woman,  back  of  the  altar,  and  plead  for  sympathy.  The 
feeling  was  momentary.  Little  by  little  the  truth 
dawned  upon  her,  and  she  thought,  "  this  represents 
the  beautiful  Mary  of  Father  Von  Gombard."  Then 
the  moonlight  within  the  maiden's  soul  began  to 
change  into  dawn.  She  gazed  and  gazed,  and  as  she 
was  so  engaged,  her  thoughts  took  wing  for  heaven  and 
her  soul  cried  within  itself  as  a  babe  for  its  mother. 
She  knew  not  her  way,  but  she  knew  she  needed  and 
yearned  for  a  guide  as  pure  as  heaven  and  as  serious  as 
God.  Her  meditations  were  interrupted  when  she 
perceived  the  place  growing  darker  about  her,  the 
forms  of  the  congregation  now  becoming  like  so  many 
moving  shadows.  All  around  her  bowed  their  heads 
as  in  prayer,  and,  impressed  by  the  solemnity  of  the 
place,  she  did  likewise.  There  was  a  long  silence. 
The  hush  of  death  was  over  the  place,  the  only 
sign  of  life  the  stealthy  movements  of  a  tall,  dark- 
robed  personage,  who  glided  about  the  chancel.  The 
tower  bell  tolled  again,  once,  twice,  thrice;  its  muffled 
tones,  as  they  died  away,  being  prolonged,  then 
caught  up  and  borne  onward  with  organ  notes  which 


The  Miserere  and  the  Easter  A  nthem.         341 

filled  the  trembling  air  with  entrancing  melody.  Then 
the  organ  lones  softened  and  died  away  into  subdued 
minors.  "  How  like  the  sighings  of  autumn  evening 
breezes,  before  a  rain,"  thought  Miriamne.  The  place 
again  was  full  of  melody,  the  organ  being  reinforced 
by  lutes  and  dulcimers,  played  by  unseen  hands.  But 
the  worshippers  were  silent;  all  bowed,  aparently,  in 
prayerful  expectation.  It  was  all  new  and  exceed 
ingly  impressive  to  the  maiden,  and  she  was  carried 
along  by  the  spirit  of  the  hour. 

The  draped  figure  passed  down  from  behind  the  altar- 
lattice  and  moved,  on  tip-toe,  from  one  to  another  of 
the  worshipers.  Miriamne  was  curious,  yet  frightened. 
"  What  if  he  came  to  me?"  The  question  she  asked 
herself  made  her  tremble.  If  it  were  the  priest,  she 
was  sure  he  would  be  very  kind  and  yet  how  would  she 
explain  her  absence  at  that  hour  from  home  ?  She 
was  alert  to  hear  the  words  he  spoke  to  others  near 
her,  and  when  she  did,  she  took  courage.  They 
seemed  just  such  as  she  needed.  She  knew  the  voice  ; 
it  was  that  of  Father  Adolphus,  in  the  tenderness  and 
triumph  of  one  filled  with  unearthly  hopes  and  heav 
enly  sympathy.  The  cadence  of  his  voice  accorded 
with  the  plaintive  tones  of  the  organ.  Miriamne's  heart 
fluttered  like  a  caged  bird,  back  and  forth,  from  yearn 
ings  to  fears,  as  the  priest  drew  nearer  and  nearer  to 
her.  She  yearned  to  hear  spoken  to  herself  his  balm- 
like  benedictions  ;  she  feared,  lest  recognizing  her,  he 
should  reprove.  He  seemed  about  to  pass,  as  if  not 
perceiving  her.  Now  more  intensely  she  yearned  and 
dreaded  than  before.  She  could  not  restrain  herself, 
and  so  she  sobbed  aloud  like  a  child  in  pain.  The 
priest  tenderly  placed  his  hand  on  her  head  and  softly 


342  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

said  •.  "  If  we  confess  our  sins  He  is  faithful  and  just  td 
forgive  and  to  cleanse  us  from  all  iniquity" 

''Oh,  Father  Adolphus,"  she  sobbed,  "is  this  for 
me?" 

The  priest  started,  but  quickly  recovered  himself, 
and  again  spoke  in  the  same  tone  as  before,  his  voice 
rising  in  accord  with  a  triumphant  strain  of  the  music: 
"He  died  thc<,t  we  might  live  !  "  Miriamne  clasped  and 
passionately  kissed  his  hand. 

The  place  had  become  darker,  little  by  little ;  the 
organ  tones  meanwhile  growing  deeper  and  more  sol- 
emn,  while  voices  from  an  unseen  choir  blended  with 
them.  Miriamne,  recognizing,  from  the  words  of  the 
singers,  the  penitential  Psalms,  followed  the  worship 
with  deepened  interest  from  the  fifty-first  to  the  fifty- 
seventh  of  the  sacred  songs.  They  expressed  the 
pains  and  tempests  of  her  own  soul  as  they  voiced 
sublimely  sin-beseeching  pardon.  The  Christian  and 
Jew  were  for  the  moment  made  akin.  The  man  at  the 
organ  was  a  master  of  his  art,  and  while  handling  the 
keys  of  his  instrument,  he  also  played  on  the  hearts  of 
his  hearers  He  was  aiming  to  reproduce  Calvary,  its 
scenes,  emotions  and  meanings,  and  he  succeeded.  The 
devout  assembly,  following  the  motive  and  movement 
of  the  composition,  was  led  mentally  to  realize  the 
journey  from  the  Judgment  Hall  to  the  Crucifixion. 
There  were  measured,  mournful,  dragging  tones; 
Jesus  bearing  his  heavy  cross;  then  followed  discord 
and  confused  uproar,  the  voices  of  a  mob.  Later  on 
there  were  dirges  and  silences,  followed,  as  it  were,  by 
blows  and  ugly  cries.  The  nailed  hands,  the  uplifted 
cross  and  the  sneers  of  those  who  passing  wagged  their 
heads,  were  all  revived  to  the  imagination.  With 


TJic  Miserere  and  tJtc  Easter  Anthem.         343 

these  sounds,  from  the  first,  there  ran  along  a  sustained 
minor  strain,  sometimes  nearly  obliterated,  at  other 
times  ruling.  It  was  as  mournful  as  the  sigh  of  the 
autumn  winds  amid  the  dying  leaves  and  night  rains. 
In  the  color  and  movement  of  that  minor  there  was 
feelingly  expressed  the  deep,  poignant,  undemonstra 
tive  sorrow  of  the,  mother  that  followed  the  thorn- 
crowned  and  scourged  Son  to  his  martyrdom.  Then 
came  a  long  silence,  broken  only  by  the  fleeting  whisp 
ers  here  and  there.  The  worshipers  were  in  earnest 
prayer.  They  were  at  the  cross,  as  the  friends  of  Jesus, 
in  earnest  communings.  Again  the  organ  broke  in  on 
the  silence;  there  was  a  rush  of  air  as  if  some  one 
passed  in  rapid,  terrified  flight,  followed  by  a  sound 
like  swiftly  departing  footsteps ;  the  fleeing  disciples 
came  to  the  minds  of  the  worshipers.  Then  the 
organ  tones  deepened  to  the  rumblings  of  approaching 
thunders — heralds  of  a  climax  of  catastrophies,  while 
above  the  rumblings  a  solitary,  piercing  voice,  which 
ended  in  a  thrilling,  agonizing  cry  :  "My  God,  my  God, 
why  hast  tlwu  forsaken  me !  "  Following  this  came 
peal  upon  peal  from  the  organ;  louder  and  louder; 
discord  and  confusion ;  ending  in  mighty  crashings. 
The  rocking  earth ;  the  earthquake  ;  the  rent  vail — 
all  the  tragedy  of  Cavalry — was  presented  in  awful 
realism  to  the  minds  of  the  kneeling  worshipers. 
Every  light  had  been  quenched,  the  temple  within  was 
as  dark  as  a  tomb,  and  not  a  sound  could  be  heard  but 
moans  and  penitential  weepings.  To  one  any  way 
superstitious  and  not  knowing  the  intent  of  the  pre 
sentment,  the  whole  would  have  seemed  very  like  the 
realm  of  the  lost,  filled  with  damned  souls,  making  piti 
ful  last  appeals  to  mercy ;  but  to  the  worshipers  there 


344  "The  Queen  of  tJie  House  of  David. 

came  a  vision  of  a  stark,  dead  form  on  a  cross,  standing 
out  vividly  against  the  darkness  of  Calvary  around 
that  cross  the  amazed,  condemned  crucifiers  and  a  few 
disciples,  the  latter  whispering  about  the  burial. 
The  realism  was  oppressive  and  some  present  cried  out, 
as  if  by  the  bier  of  a  loved  one,  while  some  fainted 
away.  But  the  Healer  was  there.  Father  Adolphus, 
with  a  voice  full  of  tears,  with  the  pathos  of  Him  that 
went  down  to  preach  hope  to  "  the  spirits  in  prison," 
spoke  to  the  penitents  of  peace,  light  and  glory  through 
faith.  As  the  old  Missioner  went  from  one  to  another 
the  lights  of  the  chapel,  one  after  another,  reappeared. 
Presently  the  aged  consoler  stood  by  Miriamne  :  "  Hast 
thou  felt  the  power  of  the  Cross,  my  child?" 

"Oh,  Father  Adolphus,  I  do  not  know  ;  I  only  know 
I'm  very  wretched  !  " 

"  '  Godly  sorrow  worketh  repentance  ' ;  but  thou  wert 
as  happy  as  a  bird  thou  thoughtst  and  saidst  a  few 
days  ago  ?  " 

"  I  was  a  bird — a  girl  then  !  I'm  a  woman  now. 
I've  lived  years  in  hours." 

"Any  sudden  trouble?" 

"Oh,  yes,  a  tempest  and  tempests." 

"Possess  me  of  all,  daughter." 

"  I  can  not.  It's  every  thing.  I  seem  so  useless  and 
nobody  loves  me  !  " 

"Thou  art  too  young  to  be  morbid  and  art  greatly 
beloved  by  ONE." 

"Oh,  I  can  not  come  to  Him.  I'm  under  His  ban  ; 
I  do  not  honor  my  parents.  How  can  I  ?  One,  my 
father,  I  never  knew.  I've  seen  him  through  my 
mother's  eyes,  and  to  despise.  Now  I  am  afraid  of 
her,  and  my  terror  is  poisoning  the  love  I  once  felt  for 


The  Miserere  and  the  Easter  Anthem.         345 

her.  Oh,  I'm  miserable,  lost !  Father,  Father,  save 
me  !  "  And  the  wretched  girl  flung  her  arms  passion 
ately  about  the  old  priest. 

"Ah,  girl,  I  can  not;  but  there  is  One  that  car 
save." 

"  Save,  save  me — one  so  lost  ?  " 

"  He  is  a  '  Prince  and  a  Saviour.  ' 

"I  do  not  know  Him.  He  can  not  love  me ,  and 
one  must  love  me  to  save  me;  I'm  so  needy  and 
wicked." 

"  Well  said,  and  He  is  love.     Only  believe." 

"  I  don't  know  how  to  believe." 

"  Like  a  poor,  sick  babe,  all  need,  thou,  amid  thy 
weaknesses,  hast  power  at  least  to  cry." 

"Cry?     What  shall  I   cry?" 

"  '  Help  thou  mine  unbelief.'  " 

Slowly,  by  wisely  simple  gospel-counsels,  the  aged 
teacher  lead  the  penitent  girl  Clmstward.  As  they 
communed  the  congregation  departed,  and  an  attend 
ant  lighted  the  lamps.  Presently  the  music  of  the  organ 
again  broke  forth  ;  but  now  in  cheerful  and  triumph 
ant  strains.  Miriamne  listened,  and  as  she  did,  a 
change  came  over  her  countenance.  Her  dawn  was 
coming. 

"Art  looking  up,  daughter?" 

"  This  music  is  like  spring  morning  melodies,  and  I'm 
singing  to  it,  in  soul,  I  think." 

"  It  is  the  morning  song  of  souls  ;  the  angel's  greet 
ing  to  Mary.  Observe  the  words;  first  the  'Hail 
Mary  '  before  the  wondrous  birth  ;  then  the  serene  as 
surance  of  the  mourning  mother  at  the  grave,  '  He  is 
not  here,  He  has  risen.' ' 

"  Ah,  Adolphus,  how  blessed  are  you  Christians  in 


346  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

a  religion  all  mercy,  all  songs,  all  love,  and  all  nearness 
to  God  !" 

"'Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy 
laden.'  ' 

"  I  would  I  could  hear  Him  say  as  much  to  me  ;  but 
I  can  not  go,  come,  nor  do  any  thing  else  ;  not  even  stay 
away  ;  I'm  a  bit  of  wind-drifted  down  !  " 

"  Come  all  ye  heavy  laden,"  measuredly  replied  the 
priest. 

"  Oh,  if  there  were  some  one  to  bear  me  onward 
blind  and  weak  as  I  am  ! " 

*'  He  carries  the  lambs  in  His  bosom  !  " 

"Alas,  I  feel  myself  cowering  away  from  His  Holi 
ness,  when  I  attempt  to  approach  Him  alone  !  " 

"All  to  Him  must  go  alone,  in  prayer  as  in  death. 
He  meets  with  a  plenteous  mercy  the  confiding 
ones  who  come  by  sorrows'  thorny  path,  as  He  will 
meet  the  needy  in  judgment  who  have  only  faith's  plea. 
Fear  not  to  go  alone  ;  solitude  has  its  benefits,  and  He 
is  sole  accuser  or  excuser.  The  terms  of  His  rebuke 
are  eternal  secrets,  as  are  the  terms  of  His  forgive 
ness.  They  lie  alone,  between  the  Blesser  and  the 
blessed." 

"  Is  the  lovely  woman  there,  your  Mary?  " 

"Yes,  child." 

"  And  she  was  the  mother  of  this  Saviour?" 

"Yes." 

"  And  was  He  like  her  ?  " 

"  He  is,  eternal  ;  the  '  I  Am  ' — not  was  nor  shall  be — 
always." 

"  Oh,  yes  ;  but  is  He  like  the  woman  ?  " 

"  In  my  soul  I  so  believe,  to  my  joy  ;  for  she  was 
godly,  therefore.  God-like." 


The  Miserere  and  the  Easter  A  ntJicm.         347 

•'  Then  I  can  love  Him,  trust  Him,  and  I'm  sure 
He'll  pity  me,  at  least." 

"  Amen,"  piously  ejaculated  Father  Adolphus. 
Then  he  said  :  "  Now  child,  rest ;  it's  too  late  to  go 
home.  My  sister,  yonder,  will  care  for  thee  till  morn 
ing,  and  then  thou  must  hie  to  thy  home.  Thou  yet 
mayst  be  its  peace-maker  and  blesser." 

Easter-tide  came.  All  nature  was  serene  and  seemed 
to  recognize  the  memorial  of  holy,  happy  association. 
Father  Adolphus  was  astir  early  to  ply  his  industry  of 
mercy  for  the  suffering.  "  Poor,  unhappy  land,  and  un 
happy  because  so  blind  !  Oh,  man,  man,  how  thine  eyes 
are  holden,  while  fatlings,  birds  and  flowers  rejoice  !  " 

"Ah,  unbenumbed  by  sinning,  they,  like  the  cattle  in 
Bethlehem's  stable,  are  first  to  see  the  Saviour  born  of 
woman.  '  Praise  ye  the  Lord,  beasts  and  all  cattle, 
creeping  things  and  flying  fowl.  They  shall  not  hurt 
nor  destroy  in  all  my  holy  mountain  ;  for  the  earth  shall 
be  full  of  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord,  as  the  waters 
cover  the  sea.' '"  Thus  soliloquized  the  old  priest  as  he 
passed  toward  well-known  haunts  of  misery  in  the 
Giant  City. 

Miriamne  was  called  to  a  late  breakfast  by  the  kindly 
sister  of  Adolphus.  The  aged  woman  said  little,  but 
every  act  seemed  freighted  with  motherly  interest,  and 
was  like  balm  to  the  heart  conscious  chiefly  of  loneliness 
and  wretchedness.  The  maiden  longed  to  have  the 
elder  woman  solicit  her  confidence,  but  the  latter  did 
not  respond  to  the  mute,  though  manifest  desire.  "  It 
is  better  so.  God's  work  is  best  done  in  an  hour  like 
this,  when  He  alone  is  left  to  searching  and  counsel." 
So  thought  this  aged  minister.  Experience  under 
Father  Adolphus  had  given  her  this  wisdom. 


348  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

The  coming  of  evening  brought  to  the  little  religious 
house  its  master  all  cheerful,  yet  well  wearied  by  a 
day  of  ministering  for  God. 

"Art  here  yet,  daughter?  "  was  his  first  greeting. 

"  Yes  ;  where  else  should  I  be  ?  I'm  friendless,  lost, 
unhappy  ;  even  to  a  vague  longing  for  death  ;  but  I'm 
frightened  at  that  longing,  since  it  seems  as  if  I  was  as 
friendless  in  Heaven  as  on  earth.  Oh,  it's  awful  to  be 
a  two-fold  orphan  !  " 

Just  then  the  church-bell  rang  forth  a  merry 
peal. 

Miriamne  looked  a  question,  and  the  old  priest  con 
tinued  :  "  Hark,  it's  the  paean  of  peace,  declaring  that 
the  Day  Spring  from  on  high  has  visited  all  those  in 
the  shadow  of  death." 

"  Another  service  ?" 

"Yes,  the  best  of  all.  We  cling  to  the  hours  ^f  this 
day  and  battle  night  away  in  joy,  thus  declaring  our 
hope  in  the  resurrection,  the  end  of  all  nights.  Lis 
ten,  that's  my  organ,  the  one  I  myself  made." 

Miriamne  listened,  and  there  was  wafted  to  her  an 
Easter  anthem  ;  at  intervals  containing  the  sentence: 
"Thou  that  takest  away  the  sins  of  the  world  have 
mercy." 

As  they  passed  into  the  chapel,  the  maiden  re 
marked  :  "  There  are  more  women  here  than  there  were 
at  the  other  service?" 

"  The  other  celebrated  death  ;  the  chief  pain-maker 
of  woman's  life  ;  for  they  live  in  love  whose  ties  are 
constantly  sundered  by  man's  last  enemy.  They  are 
allured  by  the  beautiful  things,  the  joys,  the  hopes  of 
our  Easter  service.  It  proclaims  eternal  victory  over 
the  destroyer." 


The  Miserere  and  tlie  Raster  A  nthem.         349 

"  How  beautiful  the  woman's  form  back  of  the 
altar,  good  Father,  to-night." 

"Our  moods  within  appear  to  us  on  objects  with 
out.  So  strangely  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  beginning 
in  the  soul,  spreads  everywhere.  It  is  natural,  though 
to  think  that  the  resurrection  time  brought  all  joy  to 
the  childless  mother:  to  this  one  as  it  did  and  does 
bring  a  thousand  times  to  other  mothers,  like  her  be 
reaved." 

The  Easter  service  went  onward,  a  succession  of 
joys;  the  march  of  a  pilgrim  army  with  the  goals  in 
view  ;  the  triumph  of  truth,  the  crowning  of  life,  the 
final  discomfiture  of  death.  Miriamne  brightened  as 
the  service  advanced  ;  then  came  a  fullness  of  joy  ;  then 
a  reaction  and  she  finally  fell  into  a  sleep  akin  to  a 
trance.  It  was  the  resting  of  the  wounded  on  the  way 
of  healing.  There  was  a  Divine  overpouring  and  a 
babe-like  sleep  of  perfect  trust ;  from  this  the  voice 
of  the  priest  aroused  her! 

"  Miriamne  seems  to  rest." 

"  Oh,  such  a  dream  !  I  followed  the  songs  to  the 
sky  and  wished  my  body  had  wings.  God  lifted  me  up 
and  I  slept,  dreaming  myself  into  His  presence.  I 
thought  I  was  in  heaven." 

"  Thou  art  near  it,  child." 

"Oh,  this  wonderful  calm !  What  makes  me  so 
happy  ?  " 

"  Hast  thou  any  token?" 

"  I  do  not  know  :  I  murmured  as  the  people  sang 
these  words:  'I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth\*  9&  I 
murmured  that,  every  thing,  got  brighter,  and  I  felt  no 
more  under  the  yoke  and  load  !  " 

"  He  is  thy  Vindicator.      Tis  well." 


350  The  Queen  of  tJic  House  of  David. 

Then  tears  coursed  down  the  old  man's  face. 

And  so  the  girl  that  fled  out  of  her  home,  away 
from  the  phantom  of  Rizpah  of  the  ancients,  away 
from  her  mother  ;  a  pilgrim ;  all  wants,  all  yearnings 
in  a  few  brief  hours,  had  found  a  city  of  refuge,  an 
everlasting  hope  and  was  in  soul  serenely  resting. 


Mengelburg. 


JESUS    AT    THE    AGE    OF    TWELVE    WITH    MARY    AND   JOSEPH    ON    THEIR    WAY 
TO    JERUSALEM. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 
A  HEROINE'S   PILGRIMAGE. 

•'There  is  a  vision,  in  the  heart  of  each, 
Of  justice,  mercy,  wisdom,  tenderness 
To  wrong  and  pain  and  knowledge  of  the  cure ; 
And  these  embodied  in  a  woman's  form, 
That  best  transmits  them  pure  as  first  received." 

—ROBERT  BROWN:NG. 

"  Behold,  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord  :  be  it  unto  me  ac 
cording  to  thy  word." — MARY. 

IRIAMNE,  the  day  after  her  conversion,  at 
evening,  was  sitting  in  the  portal  of  the 
church  at  Bozrah,  musing.  "  Oh,  how  I 
thank  Father  Adolphus  for  showing  me  the 
way  to  this  peace !  "  The  western  sky,  to  the  maid 
en's  rapt  imagination,  seemed  very  like  the  gate  of 
Heaven,  and  in  her  meditations  she  exclaimed  as  if 
talking  to  those  in  glory,  yet  near  to  her:  "  Mother  of 
my  Saviour,  I  need  a  mother !  Thou  and  I,  two 
women,  loved  of  the  same  Lord,  shall  we  not  evermore 
be  friends?"  Then  the  stars  glittered  through  the  fad 
ing  sun  light  like  night-lamps,  set  along  the  parapets  of 
that  far  off  city,  and  the  maiden  felt  as  if  heaven's 
doors  were  being  shut.  She  was  oppressed  with  a 
sense  of  being  left  alone,  and  thereupon  cried  out, 
"  Oh,  Jesus,  Jesus,  do  not  leave  me  here  in  the  dark  ; 
Oh  !  thou  mother,  sainted  and  happy,  may  I  not  be 
where  thou  art  until  morning  ?  The  cry  or  prayer  of 


352  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

the  girl,  having  in  it  much  of  the  poet,  little  of  th« 
skilled  theologian,  was  one  likely  to  be  censured  by 
those  adept  in  stately  forms,  and  yet  it  was  very 
natural.  Miriamne  was  but  an  infant  in  experience 
and  had  yet  to  learn  that  after  the  resurrection  came 
Pentecost ;  then  the  Ascension.  Steps  like  these  are 
in  the  believer's  experience  ;  conversion  is  a  rising  from 
the  dead  to  be  followed  by  the  assuring  work  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  then  Heaven.  But  the  soul  quickened  from 
the  charnel-house  of  sin  and  inducted,  not  only  into  a  new 
inner  life  but  into  a  new  fellowship,  hungers  for  more 
and  more.  Hence,  it  is  a  common  thing  for  the  young 
convert  to  wish  to  die,  and  be  away  from  life's  turmoils 
and  defilements  at  once  and  with  the  glorified,  imme 
diately,  forever.  It  is  as  if  the  disciple  would  pass  at 
once  from  the  sepulcher  directly  up  the  Mount  of  As 
cension.  In  this  spirit  Mary  Magdalene  pressed  forward 
to  embrace  to  her  human  heart  the  newly  risen  Saviour 
that  morning  when  he  tenderly  restrained  her.  There 
was  something  for  her  to  be  and  do  before  the  final  rest 
on  the  Divine  bosom,  in  unending  rapture.  "  Touch 
me  not;  for  I  am  not  yet  ascended"  as  if  He  would 
say,  "  I  myself,  have  other  work  yet,  before  the  eternal 
gates  are  lifted  up  for  my  triumphal  entrance  as  the 
King  of  Glory."  "  Go  to  my  brethren,  and  say  unto 
them,  I  ascend  unto  my  Father  and  your  Father"  The 
master  words  were,  "Go;"  "say."  The  load  Jesus 
put  on  His  followers  was  the  same  in  kind,  though  infi 
nitely  less,  that  He  took  on  Himself,  Some  way  it 
was  love  burdening  with  blessing,  for  He  that  in  dying 
agony  sent  the  Rose  of  His  heart,  Mary,  to  the  home 
of  John  instead  of  at  once  to  Paradise,  knew  surely 
that  then  for  her  that  was  best.  'To  go"  and 


A  Heroine  s  Pilgrimage.  353 

"  tell  "  was  best  for  Magdalene,  as  to  stay  and  work  for 
a  time  is  best  for  all : 

So  Miriamne's  prayer,  though  so  worded  that  it 
would  have  been  censured  by  the  learned  churchmen, 
was  heard  in  heaven,  and  He  that  said :  "  My  peace  I 
leave  with  you,"  ministered,  all  unseen  by  human  eye, 
to  that  lamb,  bleating  alone  amid  the  dark  giant  cas 
tles  of  Bashan  and  the  darker  castles  of  fears  that 
hover  not  far  from  each  new-born  of  His  Kingdom. 
She  passed  from  repining,  from  morbidly  wishing  to 
die  and  from  thoughts  solely  of  her  own  weal,  to  the 
second  stage  of  experience ;  that  stage,  where  the 
young  convert  is  influenced  with  a  burning  zeal  to  tell 
of  the  blessings  found  and  thereby  win  others  for  the 
Saviour.  Miriamne  soon  felt  desire  inexpressible  to  run 
and  tell  others  of  her  joy.  Then  her  mind  recurred  to 
her  father,  living  somewhere  far  to  the  westward,  just  be 
neath  where  she  had  fancied  the  gates  of  heaven  were 
a  little  while  ago.  "  No,  no  ;  I  cannot  go  yet !  I  must 
stay  here  and  do  something.  Oh,  I'd  be  ashamed  to 
go  to  heaven  and  leave  my  father,  my  mother,  my 
brothers, my  people  in  their  misery!"  As  she  thus 
spoke  she  pulled  her  hand  quickly  down  by  her  side. 
The  motion  like  to  one  pulling  away  from  some  leading 
influence.  A  voice  at  hand  spoke:  "  Behold,  he  that 
keepeth  Israel  shall  neither  slumber  nor  sleep." 

Miriamne,  with  a  slight  startled  exclamation,  turned 
to  see  whence  the  voice  and  with  joy  beheld  Father 
Adolphus. 

"  Oh,  clear  Father,  I'm  glad  you  came  this  way  !  I 
want  to  tell  you  above  all  others  how  happy  you  made 
me." 

Solemnly  and  tenderly  the  old  man  replied  :  "  '  Not 


354  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

unto  us,  oh  Lord  ;    not  unto  us,  but  unto  thy  name 
give  glory,  for  thy  mercy  and  for  thy  truth's  sake.'  " 

"  Yes,  He  has  done  it ;  but  you  helped,  good  teacher ; 
and  I  am  so  happy!  Oh,  I  do  not  know  myself!  I 
feel  so  changed.  I'm  growing  wiser,  happier  and 
stronger  every  minute." 

"  If  so,  then,  He  that  called  thee,  daughter,  had  a 
purpose." 

"  I  know  it ;  see  it ;  feel  it.  I'm  called  to  help  my 
people  ;  to  bring  together  Sir  Charleroy  and  Rizpah." 

"  Say  '  my  parents  '  ;  it's  more  filial." 

"Yes,  but  it's  so  strange.  I  call  them  in  my  mind 
now  all  the  time  by  their  names.  It  seems  as  if  I  be 
longed  to  another  family;  that  of  Jesus,  Mary  and  the 
Angels." 

"A  child  of  the  Kingdom,  indeed!  When  thy 
parents  are  converted,  the  family  tie  will  be  revived. 
Thou  dost  feel  the  love  of  heaven  ;  the  great  eternal 
family  bond,  as  Christ  when  he  said:  "My  mother  and 
my  brethern  are  these  which  hear  the  word  of  God 
and  do  it." 

"  But  if  I  hope  to  bring  my  parents  together  I  must 
go  first  to  my  father  and  persuade  him.  I  know  rny 
mother  will  object  to  the  journey.  Can  I  disobey  her 
and  still  please  God?  " 

"  Ask  God.  I  have  foi  thee,  and  already  see  thy 
way.  I  have  already  acted  in  this  matter." 

"  I  can  not  forget  the  law  in  that  I  learn  that  '  He 
that  setteth  lightly  by  his  father  or  his  mother  is 
cursed.'  Among  our  noble  ancients,  the  Maccabees, 
the  disobedient  child  was  even  stoned  to  death." 

"  But    thy    salvation    puts    thee   under  the  Gospel 
although,  under  the  Law  even  parents  had  duties  ;  they 


A  Heroine  s  Pilgrimage.  355 

were  forbidden  to  make  their  children  walk  through 
the  idolatrous  fires.  What  says  Jesus  to  thee?" 

"I  do  not  know  whether  it  be  His  spirit  or  not, 
yet  all  the  time  I  hear  a  voice  within  me  saying: 
'  These  twain  shall  be  one/  " 

"  I  see  thy  soul  abhors  this  actual  divorcement  of 
thy  parents.  Oh,  how  some  play  hide  and  seek  with 
their  consciences  around  forms  as  these  do  ;  not  comfort 
ing  but  hating  each  other;  not  bearing  together  their 
common  burdens;  wide  seas  between  them,  yet  fancy 
ing  they  have  violated  no  law  of  God,  because  they 
have  not  asked  the  law  of  man  to  do  what  it  nevei 
can,  truly,  proclaim  two,  neither  having  committed 
the  deadly  sin,  apart." 

"This  separate  living  is  their  constant  sin?" 

"  He  that  starts  wrongly  repeats  the  wrong  anew 
each  time  that,  by  act  or  thought,  he  approves  the 
wrong  first  done.  Sin's  name  is  truly  legion." 

"What  an  awful  thing  is  sin  !" 

"True,  daughter.  It  blinds  its  victims  here,  and  its 
wages  hereafter  is  death." 

"That's  why  I  fear  to  disobey  my  mother;  what  if 
;t  be  sin  to  do  so?  " 

"The  command,  my  child,  is  'children  obey  your 
parents — /;/  the  Lord." 

"  What  does  '  in  the  Lord  '  mean  ?  " 

"  I'll  tell  thee,  my  little  catechumen  ;  there  comes  a 
time  to  some  youths,  in  pious  life,  when  duty  to  God 
compels  disobedience  of  parents  ;  as  it  came  to  Jona 
than,  son  of  Saul.  God  is  Father  and  mother  to  the 
righteous,  and  His  law  must  be  first.  Mary  left  home 
and  every  thing,  first  and  last,  to  follow  Jesus,  He* 
way  was  the  Christian's. 


356  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  I  thought  once  I  was  right  in  obeying  my  mothet 
without  question.  Now  I  think  I  may  be  right  in  dis 
obeying  without  question.  The  old  and  the  new  law 
are  at  war  within  me." 

"  Amid  these  Bashan  hills  Paul,  the  Holy  Saint, 
traveled,  led  of  God  from  thinking  that  directly 
opposite  to  his  former  beliefs,  the  truth.  Jesus  met 
him  then  on  the  way  to  Damsacus,  in  power  and  in 
glory ;  Paul  had  been  for  a  long  time  a  profound 
scholar,  a  Pharisee  of  thy  people.  On  this  journey, 
enlightened  by  the  spirit,  he  asked  and  learned  sincerely 
to  ask,  the  question  of  questions  in  this  life  ;  '  Lordivhal 
wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  f  I  beseech  thee  to  ask  it 
daughter, as  thy  hourly  prayer." 

"Did  God  answer  Paul?" 

"Yea." 

"How?" 

"  The  blessed  apostle  tells  all !  '  When  it  pleased 
God  who  separated  me  from  my  mother's  womb 
to  reveal  His  son  in  me,  that  I  might  preach  among 
the  heathen,  immediately  I  conferred  not  with  flesh 
and  blood,  *  *  but  I  went  into  Arabia.'  Neither  wife, 
friend,  child,  nor  Ephesian  Elders,  clinging  with  tears, 
could  hold  him  back  from  duty.  Then  he  preached 
through  this  wild  country." 

"  But  I'm  not  Paul,  and  only  a  woman." 

"'  Only  a  woman  !'  She  out  of  whom  went  seven 
devils,  a  woman,  \vas  the  herald  of  the  resurrection, 
and  the  church ;  God's  glory  in  the  earth,  is  likened 
unto  a  woman.  Oh,  when  a  woman  is  clothed  with 
the  Sun,  there  is  nothing  more  resplendent,  and  as  for 
power,  naught  prevails  against  her.  It  seems  to  me  if 
thou  dost  emulate  her  who  said  to  God's  messenger: 


A  Heroine's  Pilgrimage,  357 

*  Be  it  unto  me  according  to  thy  word'  thou  wilt  go  ere 
long  to  thy  father  ;  but  thou  must  now  return  !  " 

"Return  whither?  This  spot  of  all  earth  alone  tole 
rates  me  ! " 

"  No,  that's  changed  !  Thou  art  the  Child  of  a  King. 
Go  home ;  ay,  rise  to  tell  of  the  One  that  hath  risen  in 
thy  heart." 

"  Dare  I  ?  Must  I?"  Miriamne  soon  answered,  by 
action,  her  own  questions. 

The  young  woman  started  homeward  ;  at  first  with 
fearfulness.  Then  there  came  to  her  great  calmness 
and  courage,  as  she  thought  :  "  If  I  was  wrong  ingoing, 
I'm  right  in  returning.  My  mother  scared  me  from 
home  into  God's  arms.  I  can  tell  her  that."  The  new 
life  had  quickened  within  her  the  springs  of  affection. 
In  all  her  life  before  she  had  not  been  so  long  apart 
from  her  mother.  She  said  to  herself,  "  I'll  just  spring 
into  her  arms,  when  I  meet  her ! "  And  she  would 
have,  if  permitted. 

The  mother  with  a  face  like  a  stone,  emotionless, 
saw  her  approach.  When  the  latter  stood  by  the 
threshold,  the  parent  freezingly  said:  "Well;  what 
dost  thou  want  here?  " 

A  dozen  answers  pressed  for  utterance.  Some  like 
those  shaped  by  an  angry  or  reckless  girl ;  some  such 
as  might  come  to  a  politic  woman,  having  recourse 
ever  to  cunning  against  the  odds  of  power.  The  first 
thoughts  were  not  of  love,  the  last  not  of  truth.  In  an 
instant  Miriamne  remembered  her  new  personality. 
She  was  the  missionary !  She  dared,  being  right,  face 
any  thing,  even  her  mother's  wrath  ;  but  in  her  soul 
she  dared  not  let  bitterness  rule.  She  knew  as  well 
that  she  dared  not  tell  the  truth  so  as  to  convey  a 


358  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

false  impression.  She  might  have  clone  so  once;  but 
not  now.  "  Lord  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do?"  the 
golden  prayer  was  on  her  lips  and  she  had  instant  grace 
to  say  quietly :  "  I  was  doing  no  wrong." 

"  Was  where  ?  " 

How  brave  the  girl  had  become.  Her  reply  was 
calm  and  courageous.  "  I  was,  for  a  time  praying  to 
God ;  but  safe,  for  God  was  with  me  in  the  Spirit  and 
good  Father  Adolphus  in  the  flesh." 

"The  Old  Clock  Man!" 

"Yea." 

"The  wizard!  I  so  suspected.  Here  is  more  of 
this  bad  work;" and  Rizpah  angrily  thrust  before 
Miriamne  a  scroll.  "That  fawning,  heretic-priest  came 
here  and  left  this  with  mock  piety  saying:  '  I,  being  the 
mother,  might  read  it !  '  I  had  no  humor  to  converse 
with  him  ;  but  of  thee  I  demand  the  full  meaning. 
Now,  no  avoidance,  girl ;  dost  thou  hear!"  Miriamne 
was  not  only  not  abashed,  but  in  her  new-found  cour 
age  took  the  letter,  and  without  a  quaver  of  the  voice. 
read : 

"  TO  THE  GRAND  MASTER  OF  THE  TEMPLE,  LONDON. 

"  Faithful  Knight  and  Son  of  the  Church  : 

"  GREETING — I  herewith  commend  to  thee  and  thy  most 
pious  and  chivalrous  offices,  my  beloved  catechumen, 
Miriamne  de  Griffin,  of  Bozrah.  She  is  the  truly  noble 
daughter  of  an  English  nobleman,  now  living  somewhere  in 
London.  He  is,  I  fear,  prodigal  toward  God,  and  an  exile 
from  his  family  ;  perhaps  in  the  distress  of  bodily  ailment 
most  grievous.  Prompted  by  holy  desires,  this  young 
woman,  whom  I  commend,  may  come  to  thy  city  in  the 
hope  of  finding  her  father,  for  the  compassing  of  his  restor 
ation  to  health,  his  family  and  righteousness.  Had  1  the 
power,  I  would  command  the  thousand  liveried  angels,  said 
ever  to  attend  the  Holy  Virgin,  to  encompass,  ever  this 


A  Heroine  s  Pilgrimage.  359 

sweet  and  pious  daughter  of  Knight  de  Griffin;  but  being 
impotent  to  direct  the  angel  guard,  I  serenely  commit  my 
daughter  in  the  spirit,  to  the  watch,  care  and  chivalrous 
regard  of  thyself  and  thy  companion  knights. 

"  All  saints  salute  thee.  My  benediction  be  on  thee.  In 
pace.  "  ADOLPHUS  VON  GOMBARD." 

"And  tJiou  dost  think  thou  couldst  go  alone,  half 
round  the  world,  find  that  renegade  wanderer,  bring 
him  here,  make  him  good,  tolerable,  and  re-unite  our 
family?  THOU?"  Rizpah  stopped,  her  voice  almost 
at  the  pitch  of  a  scream  ;  her  utterance  ending  in  a 
groan  that  died  with  a  hiss. 

Miriamne  responded  calmly  :  "  I  can  not  tell  what  I 
may  achieve,  that  is  with  God ;  but  I  know  what  I 
must  attempt.  The  path  of  duty  is  clear,  and  I  enter 
it  unwaveringly." 

"  And  I,  as  unwaveringly,  forbid." 

"  I  expected  this  command,  and  in  all  love  for  thee, 
my  mother,  shall  disobey  it." 

Rizpah  turned  pale,  her  eyes  became  leaden.  She 
was  for  an  instant  like  one  stunned  by  a  sudden,  heavy 
blow,  and  disarmed.  The  little  submissive  child  that 
she  deemed  her  daughter  to  be,  was  suddenly  trans 
formed  before  her;  changed  in  fact  to  a  firm,  strong, 
brave  woman.  But  the  elder  quickly  recovered,  and 
while  clearly  perceiving  that  violence  would  be  futile, 
had  recourse  to  the  last  arm  of  the  half-defeated,  to 
ridicule. 

"  Disobedience,  oh,  I  see,  this  is  a  part  of  this  supe 
rior  religion  of  thine  and  that  old  'Old  Clock  Man  ; 
this  Gombard,  ha  !  ha  !  It  was  always  so.  New  reli 
gions  please  by  freeing  from  law  !  What  an  old  idiot 
that  Solomon  of  the  ancients  !  He  taught 'forsake  not 
the  law  of  thy  mother.'" 


360  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  Mother,  I  have  two  parents  and  obligations  to 
both.  I  find  our  home  shattered,  and  I  for  most  of 
my  life  half  orphan.  I  have  thereby  great  and  lasting 
loss.  My  brothers  and  you  suffer  as  well.  I  am  led  of 
God,  in  a  desire  to  seek  a  remedy  for  our  troubles.  I 
would  gladly  obey  your  edicts,  but  first  I  must  obey  my 
Maker  and  King." 

"Girl,  false  teachings  lure  thee  to  a  curse." 

"  You  know  mother,  you  yourself  cursed  the  memory 
of  Herod  not  long  ago,  when  we  wandered  amid  the 
ruins  at  Kauawat  and  saw  the  remnants  of  his  image, 
as  angry  Christians  left  it,  shattered  years  ago.  That 
day  you  said  a  curse  on  him  that  broke  up  families  or 
made  innocents  mourn,  whether  he  lived  anciently  or 
now." 

"Well?" 

"  I  say  a  curse,  bitter,  on  every  act  that  breaks  up 
or  beclouds  a  home !  But  not  I,  it  is  God  that 


curses 


Rizpah  was  speechless  and  withdrew  from  the  room, 
motioning  silence  with  a  stately,  angry  wave  of  her 
hand.  She  was  defeated  in  the  debate,  but  not  sub 
dued.  The  next  day  Rizpah  renewed  the  subject,  but 
this  time  adopting  the  tactics  of  kindness. 

"My  darling,  since  yesterday  I've  been  thinking  thy 
good  intentions  worthy  of  approval  for  their  spirit  of 
love.  I'd  approve  thy  purpose  did  I  not  forsee  that 
the  great  sacrifice  on  thy  part  would  be  fruitless.  Thy 
father  and  I  could  never  live  together !  If  thou 
foundst  him  thou  couldstnot  love  him  as  he  is,  and,  as 
for  reforming  him,  that  were  impossible  !  " 

"  I  must  try." 

"  'Tis  useless  ;  a  woman  as  wise,  as  patient,  and  as 


A  Heroine's  Pilgrimage.  361 

earnestly  seeking  that  result  as  thou,  gave  years  of  de 
votion,  deep  as  her  life,  to  that  purpose.  They  failed 
utterly." 

"Was  that  woman  my  mother?" 

"Yes,  listen.  In  the  glorious  romances  of  youth  I 
met  Sir  Charleroy.  I  pitied  him  coming  to  our  house  a 
defeated  Crusader,  a  refugee.  Pity  gave  way  to  admi 
ration.  There  were  few  about  me  whom  I  could  love  ; 
I  had  no  mother.  In  some  way  I  gave  him  her  part  of 
my  heart  first,  then  the  rest  of  it.  I  admired  him  for 
his  soldier-like  bravery.  He  was  older  and  vastly  wiser 
than  I.  All  my  ambitions  seemed  to  be  satisfied  in 
climbing  up  with  his  thoughts.  He  was  able  to  teach 
me  a  thousand  things  I  never  before  heard  of.  Heart 
and  mind  were  intoxicated.  I  unconditionally  surren 
dered  all  to  him,  with  an  almost  worshipful  devotion. 
I  could  not  have  made  a  more  complete  committal  if 
my  God  had  come  in  human  form  and  sought  me  for 
His  everlasting  companionship.  I  fled  with  him  from 
my  father's  home.  In  the  wild  Lejah  and  this  Bozrah 
we  lived  for  a  time  together,  until  he  changed  from 
lover  to  hater  !  Here  my  unnatural  love  was  murdered 
by  inches.  I  can  now  reason  better  than  then,  and  yet 
the  past  seems  like  a  nightmare.  Thy  father  knew  a 
great  deal,  intended  to  be  kind  but  did  not  compre 
hend  the  dangerous  responsibility  of  taking  to  his  care 
such  a  passionate,  imaginative,  impressible  creature  as 
I  was.  He  did  not  realize  that  there  is  a  period  in  a 
woman's  life  when  she  may  be  literally  made  into  an 
other  being.  In  every  generation  women  are  walking 
by  thousands  through  a  sort  of  passion  week.  I  walked 
in  mine,  ready  to  be  molded  almost  into  any  form ;  but 
he  tried  to  have  me  profess  to  be  a  Christian,  live  like  a 


362  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  Davta. 

devotee  of  Astarte  and  be  as  Anata  of  the  Assyrians 
to  her  husband,  but  the  echo  of  himself.  I  might  have 
done  all  this,  but  he  tried  to  hasten  me  by  force,  and 
then  all  fell  to  ruins  like  those  amid  which  we  lived. 
That  glorious  structure  of  love  which  romance  built, 
became  the  saddest  ruin  here  in  those  days. 

"  I  was  then  a  young  woman,  just  entering  the  peril, 
ous,  exhaustive  periods  of  maternity.  I  was  weak  and 
nervous,  and  sometimes  may  have  tried  his  patience, 
but  I  thought  then  that  he  ought  to  have  borne  with 
me.  I  am  now  certain  he  ought.  After  he  left,  I  was 
for  a  time  glad.  I  had  renewed  freedom  from  argu 
ments,  rasping  and  crossing  of  purposes.  Then  I  felt 
the  martyr's  joy.  I  felt  I  was  left,  a  girl-wife,  with 
babe  in  arms,  to  battle  alone,  for  God's  sake,  for  thy 
sake.  It  seemed  often  that  the  arching  heavens 
above  were  smiling  upon  baby  and  me;  that  sustained 
me.  But,  daughter,  my  moral  training  had  been  as 
thorough  as  has  been  thine.  My  idea  of  the  solemnity 
and  life-bindingness  of  the  marriage  tie  could  be  no 
higher  than  it  was.  I  believed  it  divine  to  be  forgiv 
ing,  and  finally  was  impelled  to  turn  from  our  broken 
home,  to  find,  if  possible,  my  recreant  spouse.  Domi 
nated  by  convictions  of  duty,  and  often  by  a  revived, 
wild,  soul-possessing  love  for  Sir  Charleroy,  I  went  to 
far  off,  strange  London,  I  hunted  out  Sir  Charleroy 
and  was  ready  to  be  all  things,  any  thing  for  his  sake. 
He  recei-ved  me  tenderly,  only  to  soon  change  to 
cruelty.  Your  brothers  were  born  there,  adding  to  my 
load  new  burdens;  but  I  was  without  help.  He  never 
seemed  to  study  my  comfort,  pleasure  nor  needs.  In  a 
nation  of  strangers,  with  strange  ways,  I  was  alone. 
He  knew  scores  ;  I  knew  only  that  one  man.  Repulsed 


A  Heroine's  Pilgrimage.  363 

by  him  I  drank  again  and  again  the  depths  of  misery, 
having  no  heart  in  all  the  great  city  to  counsel  nor 
iove  me.  Then  thy  father  took  delight  in  vice.  I  was 
crucified  for  months  ;  my  only  comfort  communing  in 
memory  with  the  Sir  Charleroy  that  had  been,  the 
tender,  loving,  brave  Palestine  knight.  In  those  dark 
days,  I  found  there  was  a  place  where  persecuted 
Israelites  secretly  met ;  a  sort  of  cleft-rock  synagogue. 
Thither  I  went  for  consolation.  I  was  wedded  anew  to 
my  religion,  because  it  was  mother,  father,  husband 
and  all  to  me ;  when  there  was  none  but  God  left  to 
me.  I  came  to  long,  daily,  for  the  time  to  go  to  that 
meeting  place  of  a  few  Hebrews  just  to  pray  God  for 
two  things.  One,  the  most  pitiful  of  prayers  for  a 
mother,  that  He  would  care  for  my  children  and  keep 
them  from  being  like  their  father;  the  other  that  I 
might  be  permitted  soon  to  die  !  Thy  father  grew 
constantly  more  brutal,  taciturn  and  fitful !  At  last  I 
had  an  explanation.  I  found  by  unmistakable  signs  that 
he  was  going  mad.  I  saw  further  that  that  madness 
took  the  shape  of  a  murderous  antipathy  for  me  and 
the  children.  Under  the  advice  of  the  rabbi,  leader  of 
our  people  at  London,  I  determined,  as  the  only 
alternative,  to  return  to  our  Bozrah  home  and  leave 
him  to  the  care  of  his  companion  knights.  In  blank, 
leaden  grief  I  left  London.  I  came  to  these  scenes  of 
desolation  with  a  heart  as  broken  as  any  that  ever  sur 
vived  its  pains.  I  could  have  died.  I  returned,  my  fate 
fixed,  the  cup  of  my  retribution  for  having  disobeyed 
my  parent  full.  Once  a  queenly,  blithesome  girl, 
petted  and  loved  by  hundreds,  changed  to  a  lone,  sad 
widow  and  prematurely  old.  A  wife  without  a  hus 
band,  a  Jew  without  the  recognition  of  my  people. 


364  The  Queen  of  tJie  House  of  David. 

How  utterly  isolated  !  Thou  know'st  the  rest,  daugh 
ter." 

The  two  women  were  silent.  Miriamne  was  moved 
by  the  revelation  to  a  wondrous  pity;  but  her  royal 
sentence:  "Lord,  what  wilt  tJiou  have  :ne  to  do?" 
seemed  to  be  written  on  the  air  just  before  her  uplifted 
eyes. 

Then  questioned  the  elder,  "  And  thou  my  daughter, 
a  woman,  wilt  not  also  leave  me  ?  It's  a  woman's  heart 
that  pitifully  questions." 

"  I'll  never  forsake  my  mother  !  " 

"  And  never  leave  ?  " 

"  Except,  only  as  God  commissions  !  " 

"  Oh,  say  that  thou  wilt  never  leave  me  in  life  !  I 
said  this  in  cruel  pains  for  thee,  Miriamne.  Miriamne, 
daughter,  here  by  the  couch  in  which  thou  wert  born, 
I  plead."  So  saying  the  mother  dropped  on  one  knee, 
flung  one  arm  over  the  bed  by  her  side,  and  stretched 
out  the  other  toward  her  daughter. 

The  maiden  was  profoundly  moved,  her  loving  heart 
seemed  to  be  swelling  within  her,  all  her  emotional  na 
ture  ready  to  exclaim,  "  I'll  tarry,"  but  again  her  royal 
sentence  :  "  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?  " 
controlled. 

"  Loved  mother,  I  am  not  my  own.  God  has  bought 
me,  and  in  His  dear  love  I  go.  The  story  of  sorrow 
I've  just  heard  confirms  me  in  my  purpose.  I'm  called, 
I  know,  to  workout  a  new  and  brighter  day  for  mother 
and  father !  " 

Rizpah  was  both  pained  and  chagrined,  and  burying 
her  face  in  }\z\  pepulinn  moaned,  "  God,  pity  me !  " 

"  He  does,  I  know,  and  sends  a  daughter  to  bear  thee 
proof,  my  mother." 


A  Heroine's  Pilgrimage.  365 

The  mother,  as  if  not  hearing  the  latter  words,  con 
tinued,  growing  vehement  :  "  The  necromancy  of  that 
Nazarine  priest  has  hastened  the  workings  of  he 
redity's  curse  !  Girl,  thy  father's  distemper  is  taking 
root  in  thy  brain  ;  thou  too,  art  going  mad !  This 
scheme  of  peril,  foredoomed  to  failure,  is  worthy  of  a 
bedlamite  only.  Oh,  Jehovah,  my  shepherd,  thou 
lead'st  me  now  by  bitter  waters! ' 

Mother,  you  called  me  at  my  birth,  'Marah,'  'bit 
terness.'  You  know  how  the  people  murmured  by  the 
bitter  springs  of  Marah,  in  the  wilderness,  but  God 
showed  Moses  a  tree  that  sweetened  the  water.  I've 
seen  that  tree  and  felt  its  power.  It  grows  on  the 
mount  called  Calvary,  and  is  immortal." 

"Be  considerate  now,  daughter,  since  I  meet  thee 
kindly.  To  one  not  believing  thy  Nazarenc  doctrine, 
it  is  useless  to  appeal  with  Christian  figures." 

"  Well,  mother,  you  remember  Jeptha  ?  He  had  a 
daughter,  and  she  was  all  influential  with  him." 

"  He  was  the  cause  of  her  death,  as  thy  father  will 
be  of  thine." 

"  But  Jeptha's  daughter  became  a  heroine." 

"  When  dost  thou  depart  ?"  questioned  Rizpah. 

"  Next  Lord's  day  I  say  my  last  prayers  in  Bozrah." 

"  Farewell.  As  well  now  as  later.  I  can  not  bear  a 
long  parting,  and  after  to-day  we  shall  speak  no  more 
of  this."  Miriamne  was  amazed  by  the  sudden 
change. 

"  Do  I  go  in  peace?" 

"Ah,  daughter,  what  a  question?  A  mother's  undi- 
minished  love  will  follow  thee  even  unto  death,  wing 
ing  a  thousand  daily  prayers  to  Israel's  Shepherd  in  thy 
behalf.  Yet,  I  shall  condemn  thy  going,  rebuke  thy 


The  Queen  of  the  House  of  Davi 

disobedience,  perhaps  frown  upon  thee,  au^  ,-ven 
'  I  disown  thee  ! '  But,  though  I  do  all  tiiis,  there 
will  be  tears  in  my  voice  and  kisses  in  my  heart,  for 
my  first-born.  All  my  authority  as  a  mother  cries 
against  thy  going,  and  all  my  mother-heart  embraces. 
I'll  not  kiss  thee  as  thou  departest,  but  waft  hundreds 
after  thee  when  thou  art  gone.  I'm  not  Rizpah,  de. 
votee  of  Rizpah  now.  I'm  only  a  woman,  a  parent,  a 
voice  uttering  two  decrees  ;  one  of  the  head  and  one  of 
the  heart ! " 

Miriamne  was  inexpressibly  rejoiced  by  the  words 
she  had  heard,  as  they  betokened  the  breaking  down 
of  the  strong  opposition  to  her  purpose;  but  she  could 
not  trust  herself  further  than  to  say,  as  she  affection 
ately  embraced  her  mother,  "And  I  can  only  cry  as 
did  that  noble  Bethlehem  mother  to  God's  messen« 
ger  :  '  Be  it  unto  me  according  to  tJiv  word'  He  leads, 
I  follow." 


THK    YOl'TH    JK.srs    YIELDING    TU    THE    WISHES    OF    HIS    MOTHER. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


CONSOLATRIX   AFFLICTORUM. 

'•  Furl  we  the  sail  and  pass  with  tardy  oar 
Through  these  bright  regions,  casting  many  a  glance 
Upon  the  dream  like  issues  and  romance 
Of  many-colored  life  that  Fortune  pours 
Round  the  Crusaders  till,  on  distant  shores, 
Their  labors  end." 

— WORDSWORTH. 

IRIAMNE'S   welcome  at  the  "  Retreat  of 

the  Palestineans,"  at  London,  was  most 
cordial.  The  Grand  Master  of  the  returned 
knights  and  his  wife  received  her  as  a 
daughter ;  the  companion  knights  vied  with  each  other 
in  efforts  to  serve  the  child  of  their  once  honored 
comrade,  Sir  Charleroy  de  Griffin.  But  the  maiden 
never  for  a  moment  lost  sight  of  her  mission.  No 
sooner  had  she  been  bidden  to  rest  than  she  ques 
tioned  as  to  her  father's  welfare.  The  Grand  Master 
attempted  to  assure  her  that  she  might  recuperate  after 
her  journey,  but  she  only  the  more  urged  her  desire  to 
be  taken  to  her  parent  at  once. 

"  Worthy  Master,  dalliance  would  not  be  rest,  but 
torture,  to  me.  Being  now  so  near  my  father,  I'm 
filled  with  a  ruling,  all-exciting  longing  to  see  him,  at 
once ! " 

"  Be  patient,  daughter,  for  a  little  season  ;  all  is  done 
for  him  that  can  be.  The  princely  revenues  of  the 


368  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David, 

knights  of  Europe  are  at  the  behest  of  each  of  our 
veterans,  as  he  hath  need." 

"  Ah  !  but  your  wealth  can  not  provide  him  what  I 
bring — a  daughter's  love  !  " 

"And  yet,  daughter,  since  you  press  me,  I  must  ex 
plain  that  he  is  under  a  cloud  which  would  make  thy 
offering  vain  at  present." 

"  There  is  no  need,  kind  commander,  to  make  evasive 
explanations.  I  have  been  forewarned  of  my  father's 
troubles  of  mind." 

"  But  he  is  violent  at  times,  and  we  are  compelled  to 
keep  him  secluded  in  the  asylum  of  our  brotherhood." 

"  Good  Master,  that  but  the  more  increases  my  ardor 
to  hasten  a  meeting  with  him.  I  want  to  try  the  cure 
of  love  upon  him  ;  I've  all  faith  in  its  efficacy.  When 
may  I  go  ?  " 

The  foregoing  was  a  sample  of  Miriamne's  words 
each  day.  Her  appeals  touched  all  hearts  and  finally 
over-persuaded  the  medical  attendants,  who,  in  fact, 
began  to  fear  lest  refusal  would  unsettle  the  maiden's 
mind.  She  was  all  vehemence  and  urgency  on  this 
subject. 

The  meeting  was  a  sorrowful  and  brief  one. 

She  was  not  prepared  for  such  a  spectacle  as  her 
father  presented,  and  her  cry,  "  Take  me  to  him,"  was 
changed  to  one  more  vehement  now : 

"  Take  me  away  !  " 

Terror  supplemented  her  utter  disappointment.  To 
both  feelings  there  was  added  a  sense  of  humiliation. 
She  imagined  her  return  to  Bozrah,  empty-handed ; 
the  possible  gibes  of  her  mother  and  others.  Her 
great  faith  seemed  fruitless  and  her  enthusiasm  ebbed. 
Then  she  began  to  question  within  herself  whether  or 


Consolatrix  Afflictornm.    •  369 

not,  after  all,  the  new  faith  she  had  embraced  was  not 
a  splendid  illusion!  She  was  in  "Doubting  Castle," 
with  "  Giant  Despair,"  and  the  mighty,  impelling 
question,  "What  wilt  Thou  have  me  to  do  ?"  little  by 
little  lost  its  grip  on  her  will.  It  had  seemed  to  her 
the  voice  of  God  ;  now  it  seemed  little  more  than  the 
echo  of  words  heard  in  a  dream.  She  was  moved  now 
by  a  desire  to  get  away  from  something,  but  she  could 
not  define  the  thing.  Certainly  she  desired  to  escape 
her  disappointment,  but  not  knowing  how,  she  sought 
to  get  away  from  its  scene.  If  she  could  have  run 
away  from  herself  she  would  have  been  glad  to  have 
done  so.  She  fled  from  the  asylum,  as  soon  as  night 
came  to  hide  her  flight.  She  had  not  strength  to  go 
far,  and  the  Asylum  park  of  many  acres  of  lawns  and 
groves,  afforded  her  solitude;  that  that  she  now  chiefly 
desired.  The  night  the  desolate  girl  thus  went  forth 
was  a  lovely  one ;  a  reflection  of  that  other  night  of 
sorrow  when  she  fled  from  the  old  stone-house  home 
to  the  chapel  of  Adolphus  at  Bozrah.  And  the  mem 
ory  of  that  night  returned  to  the  girl  with  some  con 
soling.  Again  she  looked  up  to  the  firmament  and 
was  calmed  by  the  eternal  rest  that  seemed  on  all 
above,  and  again  she  yearned  to  go  up  further  to  the 
only  seeming  haven  of  righteousness  and  peace. 

Then  came  the  reaction  ;  the  prolonged  tension  had 
done  its  work,  and  the  young  woman  dropped  down  on 
the  earth.  How  long  she  lay  in  her  blank  dream  she 
knew  not.  If  during  its  continuance  she  in  part  recov 
ered  consciousness,  she  had  no  desire  nor  strength  to 
rise  or  throw  off  her  weakness. 

Ere  long  her  absence  was  knowrn  at  the  Grand  Mas 
ter's  and  an  eager  search  wa?  instituted.  Foremost 


The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

in  the  quest  was  the  young  chaplain  of  the  knighti 
and  his  quest  brought  him  first  to  the  object  of  search 

"Can  I  aid  my  lady?  "said  the  chaplain,  in  kindly 
tones.,  standing  a  little  distance  away  from  her,  in  part 
through  a  feeling  of  delicacy  akin  to  bashfulness,  and 
in  part  fearing  lest  by  any  means  he  should  affright  her. 

The  young  woman  lay  motionless  ;  her  eyes  closed  : 
her  face  as  the  face  of  the  lifeless.  Receiving  no  an 
swer,  the  man  questioned  within  himself:  "Is  she 
dead  ?  "  Fear  emboldened  him,  and  he  essayed  active 
assistance.  Delicately,  gently,  firmly  he  raised  up  the 
prostrate  woman.  She  seemed  to  realize  that  some 
one  was  assisting  her,  but  she  was  very  passive.  Her 
head,  drooping,  rested  on  the  young  man's  shoulder, 
and  she  sighed  a  weary,  broken  sentence: 

"  I'm  so  glad  you  came,  Father  Adolphus!" 

"  Not  Father  Adolphus,  but  one  rejoiced  to  serve  a 
friend  of  his." 

The  maiden  was  silent  a  few  moments,  as  if  listening 
to  words  coming  to  her  from  a  distance,  through  con 
fusions.  Memory  was  struggling  to  re-enforce  semi- 
consciousness.  Then  came  comprehension  ;  she  real 
ized  the  presence  of  a  stranger,  and,  with  an  effort, 
stood  erect.  Her  eyes  turned  on  the  chaplain's  face 
with  questionings,  having  in  them  mingled  surprise, 
timidity  and  rebuke.  The  man  interpreted  her  glance 
and  made  quick  reply  : 

"  At  my  lady's  services,  the  Chaplain  of  the  Pales- 
tineans.  We  are  all  anxious  at  the  Grand  Master's 
concerning  yourself." 

"  Anxious  tor  me  !  "  She  found  words  to  say  that 
much,  and  hearing  her  own  words  she  recalled  her 
recent  thoughts  of  herself,  as  one  being  very  miserable 


Consolatrix  Afflictorum.  371 

and  very  worthless.  She  turned  her  eyes  from  the 
young  man  toward  the  woodland,  in  the  darkness  ap 
pearing  like  a  gateway  to  black  oblivion.  She  yearned 
to  bury  herself  in  the  oblivion  utterly,  and  her  looks 
betrayed  the  thought.  The  youth  gently  touched  her 
arm,  saying: 

"  Despair  has  no  place  here  ;  the  Palestineans  van 
quish  it." 

She  then  looked  down  toward  where  she  had  been 
lying,  both  nerves  and  will  weakening.  It  seemed  to 
her  a  bed,  even  on  the  earth,  were  inviting,  especially 
so  if  she  could  take  there  a  sleep  that  knew  no  waking. 

The  young  man  had  ministered  to  his  fellow-beings 
long  enough  to  have  become  a  good  interpreter  of 
hearts.  He  discerned  the  thoughts  of  the  one  before 
him,  and  offered  prompt  remedies,  words  wisely 
spoken : 

"  Our  faith  makes  us  all  hope  to  see  our  guest  happy 
ere  long." 

Then  she  gave  way  to  a  flood  of  tears.  The  tears 
moved  the  man  to  exercise  his  professional  function, 
and  forgetting  all  else  he  spoke  as  a  comforter  to  a 
sorrowing  woman.  She  listened,  but,  except  for  her 
sobs,  was  silent  until  he  questioned  :  "  Shall  I  stay  to 
guide  back  to  the  'Refuge,'  or  return  to  send  help  ?" 

She  answered  by  turning  toward  him  a  face  pale  and 
blank,  lighted  alone  by  eyes  all  appealing.  He  in 
terpreted  the  look  and  continued  :  "  I'll  tarry  to  aid. 
Shall  we  now  seek  the  '  Refuge  ?  '  ' 

Then  she  exclaimed,  "Alas,  there  seems  no  refuge 
for  me  !  " 

"  The  troubles  of  Miriamne  de  Griffin  enlist  all 
hearts  at  this  place,  I  assure  you." 


3/2  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"And  this,  your  kindness,  with  your  happiness  evei 
before  me,  but  makes  to  myself  my  own  desolation 
more  manifest !  Ah,  I'm  but  a  hulk  in  a  dark  tide  !  " 

"  Lady,  say  not  so,  I  beseech  you  Look,  there  !  " 
Languidly,  mechanically,  she  turned  her  eyes  in  the 
direction  the  speaker  pointed  ;  then  suddenly  drew 
back  from  sight  of  a  white  apparition,  standing  out 
boldly  from  a  background  of  dark  shrubbery.  Her 
nerves  all  unstrung  were  for  the  moment  victimized  by 
superstitious  dreads. 

"  Only,  calm,  pure  marble;  a  fear-slayer;  not  fear- 
invoker !  Look  at  its  pedestal!"  assuringly  spoke 
the  chaplain.  The  maiden  did  as  bidden  and  slowly 
read,  repeating  each  word  aloud  :  " Sancta-Maria-Conso- 
latrix-Afflictoru  m." 

"  By  easy  interpretation  :  '  Mother  of  Jesus,  consoler 
of  the  sorrowing  !  '  "  responded  the  young  man. 

"  Ah,  like  all  consolations  nigh  to  me,  this  is  only 
stone  and  set  in  deep  shadows!  It  cannot  come  to 
me !  " 

"True,  yon  form  is  passionless  stone;  but  the  truth 
eternal,  which  it  emblemizes,  is  living  and  fervent." 

"  Life  and  fervor?  Death  and  sorrow  submerge 
both  !  " 

"  There  is  mother-love  in  the  heart  of  God  ;  to  one  so 
nearly  orphan  as  my  friend,  it  must  be  comforting  to 
look  up  believing  that  in  heaven  there  are  fatherhood, 
motherhood  and  home  !  This  is  the  sermon  in  yon 
stone." 

Then  the  chaplain  gently,  reverently  drew  the  sorrow 
stricken  maiden  toward  the  "  Refuge  "  and  she  fol. 
lowed,  unresisting.  As  they  moved  along,  she  essayed 
to  seek  further  acquaintance  with  her  guide. 


Consolatrix  Afflict  or  urn.-  373 

"  May  I  know  the  chaplain's  name  ?  " 

"Certainly;  to  those  that  are  intimates,  'Brother' 
or  '  Friend;  '  for  such  I've  renounced  my  former  self 
and  name." 

"  But  if  I  should  need  and  wish  to  send  for  you  ?  I 
might.  I  could  not  call  for  '  Brother.'  ' 

"Ah,  I'm  by  right,  'Cornelius  Woelfkin  ; '  yet  the 
names  are  misnomers,  since  I'm  not  kin  to  the  wolf, 
nor  am  I  '  a  heart-giving  light  '  as  my  name  implies ;  at 
least  if  I  give  light  it  is  but  dim." 

The  meeting  of  the  young  people,  apparently  acci 
dental,  was  in  fact  an  incident  in  a  far-reaching  train  of 
Providences.  The  young  woman  was  in  trouble  and 
needing  such  sympathy  as  one  who  was  both  young 
and  wise  could  give  ;  the  young  man  was  courteous, 
pure-minded,  wise  beyond  his  years,  free  from  the  con 
ceits  common  to  young  men  of  capacity,  and  being  a 
natural  philanthropist,  naturally  sympathetic.  The 
young  woman  was  at  the  age  that  yearns  for  a  girl 
friend,  and  needs  a  mother's  counsel ;  the  young  man 
had  much  of  his  mother  in  his  make-up ;  enough  to  fit  him 
to  win  his  way  into  the  confidence  and  fine  esteem  of 
a  refined  and  trusting  young  woman  ;  but  not  enough 
to  make  him  effeminate.  Somehow  he  exactly  met 
the  needs  of  Miriamne's  life.  He  could  advise  her  as 
sincerely  and  wisely  as  a  mother  and  companion  her 
as  affectionately  as  a  girl  friend.  Having  neither  girl 
friend  nor  mother,  the  young  chaplain  became  both  to 
her. 

They  were  both  impressible  and  inexperienced  in 
the  matters  that  belong  to  the  realms  of  the  heart,  in 
its  grander  emotions ;  therefore  with  a  charming  sim 
plicity  they  outlined  their  intentions  and  the  limita- 


374  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

tions  of  their  relations.  They  assured  each  other, 
again  and  again,  probably  in  part  to  assure  themselves, 
that  they  were  to  be  very  true  and  very  sensible  young 
friends.  Their  converse  often  ran  along  after  this 
manner. 

"  We  understand  each  other  so  well !  " 
"  Yes,  and  are  so  well  adapted  to  each  other ! " 
"We  have  had  too   much  experience  to  spoil  this 
helpful  relation  between  us,    by  giving  away  to  any 
sway  of  the  romantic  emotions." 

"  There  has  seldom  been  in  the  world  a  friendship 
between  a  young  man  and  young  woman  so  exalted 
and  wise  as  ours  is." 

They  agreed  that  she  should  call  him  "  brother,"  and 
he  should  call  her  "  sister."  At  first  they  said  they 
wished  they  were  indeed  akin  by  ties  of  blood; 
though  in  time  they  were  glad  they  were  not.  In 
this  they  were  like  many  another  pair  who  have  had 
such  a  wish,  and  in  their  case  as  in  many  another  like 
it,  the  wish  was  a  prediction  of  its  own  early  demise. 

Among  the  works  of  art  in  the  park  of  the  Palestine- 
ans  was  a  commanding  bronze  of  Pallas-Athene,  the  god. 
dess  believed  by  her  pagan  devotees  to  be  the  patron 
ess  of  wisdom,  art  and  science.  She  was  the  Virgin  of 
the  Romans  and  the  Greeks,  their  queenly  woman, 
deemed  by  her  wisdom  ever  superior  to  Mars,  god  of 
war,  She  was  represented  bearing  both  spear  and 
shield  ;  but  these  as  emblems  of  her  moral  potencies. 
In  a  word,  she  was  the  result  of  the  efforts  of  those 
ancients  to  express  a  perfection  that  was  virgin  and 
matchless,  because  too  fine  and  exalted  to  have  an 
equai.  Between  the  "  White  Madonna"  and  this  Min- 
nerva,  Oiaplain  Woelfkin  and  the  Maid  of  Bozrah  often 


Consolatrix  Ajftictorum.*  375 

walked,  back  and  forth,  in  very  complacent  conversa 
tions.  They  desired  themes,  the  ideals  afforded  them  ; 
they  were  in  a  frame  of  mind  that  delighted  in  Utopi- 
anism,  and  the  effigies  of  the  women  guided  their  day 
dreams.  Youth,  quickened  by  dawning,  though  as  yet 
unperceived,  love,  naturally  begins  building  a  Pantheon 
filled  with  fine  creations.  That  is  the  time  of  hero- 
worship  in  general ;  afterward  comes  the  iconoclastic 
period  when  every  idol  is  cast  down  to  make  place  for 
the  only  one  that  the  heart  crowns.  Cornelius  praised 
sincerely  Miriamne,  when  she  said  she  would  be  as  the 
Graeco-Roman  goddess  —  very  wise,  very  pure,  very 
strong.  Day  by  day,  he  believed  she  was  becoming 
like  Minerva.  Then  he  thought  it  very  fine  for  the 
maiden  to  emulate  the  goddess  in  every  thing,  even  her 
perpetual  virginity.  Again,  walking  near  the  Madon 
na  and  discoursing  of  her  as  the  ideal  of  womanhood, 
as  the  mother,  the  minister,  the  saint,  the  maiden  said 
she  would  emulate  the  latter  ;  the  chaplain  in  his  heart 
prayed  that  she  might. 

Once  he  finely  said  :  "  A  pure,  patient  woman  is  God's 
appointed  and  best  consoler  of  the  afflicted.  Miriamne, 
be  like  Mary,  and  Sir  Charleroy  will  find  restoration." 

The  young  woman  was  encouraged  by  the  words  to 
increase  her  efforts  in  her  father's  behalf.  Now  she 
did  so  not  only  because  prompted  by  a  sense  of  duty. 
but  because  filial  love  seemed  a  fine  ornament  for  a 
maiden.  Birds  in  mating-times  put  on  their  finest 
plumage  ;  men  and  women  do  likewise.  The  chaplain 
was  a  humanitarian  by  profession,  and  naturally  joined 
the  maiden  in  her  efforts  for  her  father's  recovery.  So 
their  thoughts  and  their  works  ran  in  parallel  lines 
They  had  unbounded  delight  in  their  companionship 


376  The  Queen  of  the  riouse  of  David, 

and  common  efforts.  This  delight  they  innocently 
explained  to  themselves  as  the  natural  result  and 
reward  of  their  fine,  exalted,  frank,  wise,  brother- 
like,  sister-like  friendship.  In  hours  of  their  su- 
premest  satisfaction  they  generously  expressed  sorrow 
for  the  world  at  large,  because  so  few  in  it  knew  how 
to  attain  such  bliss  as  they  enjoyed.  In  a  word,  they 
were  a  very  fine  and  a  very  innocent  pair,  a  complete 
contrast  with  Rizpah  and  Sir  Charleroy  at  Gerash. 
The  latter  took  their  course  under  the  torrid  influences 
of  Astarte  of  the  brawny  Giants,  the  former  moved 
forward  charmed  and  led  by  those  things  that  were  held 
to  be  the  belongings  of  the  fine  women  whose  statues 
graced  the  park  of  the  Palestineans.  Miriamne  asked 
wisdom  later  of  her  elect  counselor,  and  he  advised 
her  to  send  letters  to  Bozrah  urging  her  mother  to  join 
her  in  London,  in  efforts  in  behalf  of  their  insane  kins 
man. 

The  young  man  very  wisely  argued  :  "  He  is  a  frag 
ment,  flung  out  of  a  wrecked  home  ;  his  perturbed  mind 
is  clouded  by  the  wild  passions  of  a  misled  heart. 
We  must  balance  his  brain  by  calming  his  heart.  He 
is  filled  with  hatings,  and  love  alone  is  hate's  cure.  If 
the  past  losses  be  recovered,  he  must  be  brought  back 
to  the  place  of  loss." 

Miriamne  wrote  to  her  mother,  glad  to  please  her 
counselor  by  so  doing,  and  yet  almost  hopeless  of  gain 
ing  any  answer  that  was  favorable.  The  maiden  re 
newed  her  visit  to  her  father's  lodge  in  the  asylum. 
She  was  not  permitted,  nor  did  she  then  desire,  to  see 
her  parent.  She  shuddered  when  she  remembered  the 
one  dreadful  meeting  of  the  beginning,  and  was  con 
tent  to  sit  outside  the  door  of  his  cell  or  keep,  day  by 


Consolatrix  Afflictorum:  377 

day,  to  perform  such  little  services  as  she  could.  Some 
times  she  would  call  the  insane  man  by  his  name,  or 
title;  sometimes  she  would  call  out :"  Father,  would 
you  like  to  see  Miriamne  ?"  or  "  Father,  your  daughter 
is  here."  At  other  times  she  would  sit  near  his  door 
singing  Eastern  songs,  especially  such  as  she  had 
heard  were  favorites  of  her  parents  in  their  younger 
days. 

Days  passed  onward,  and  there  appeared  no  result 
beyond  the  fact  that  when  she  was  thus  engaged  the 
knight  became  very  quiet.  At  the  suggestion  of  Chap 
lain  Woelfkin,  she  changed  her  method,  and  began  in 
hearing  of  the  knight  a  recital  of  the  history  of  Crusader 
days.  In  this  she  \vas  encouraged,  for  an  attendant 
told  her  that  her  father  each  day,  when  she  began,  drew 
close  to  his  barred  door  to  listen.  As  she  came  near 
the  time  of  the  Acre  campaign,  the  knight's  face  was 
flushed  with  interest.  Having  followed  the  narrative 
up  to  the  fall  of  the  city  and  the  flight  of  Sir  Charle- 
roy  and  his  comrades,  she  paused.  Then  she  wras  sur 
prised  and  delighted  at  once,  for  the  incarcerated  man 
in  a  voice  both  calm  and  natural,  ejaculated  the  words  : 
"  Go  on  !  " 

Miriamne  would  have  rushed  to  the  prison  door  had 
not  Cornelius,  who  stood  not  far  away,  motioned  her 
to  remain  seated  and  to  continue.  For  a  moment  she 
was  at  a  loss  how  to  proceed,  but  then  she  bethought 
herself  of  an  experiment.  She  described  by  a  kind  of 
a  parable  the  career  of  her  father,  as  follo\vs  : 

"  And  the  noble  knight,  after  years  of  illness,  was 
found  by  his  loving  daughter.  Under  her  kindly  care 
he  recovered,  and  at  her  earnest  request  he  returned  to 
his  home  in  Palestine.  There  he  spent  many  happy 


378  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  Davta. 

years  with  his  reunited  family,  consisting  of  a  wife 
daughter  and  twin  sons.  He  is  living  there  now,  and 
all  that  family  agree  that  theirs  is  the  most  happy  and 
loving  home  on  earth." 

"It's  a  lie !  a  lie!"1  almost  shouted  the  lunatic. 
"  Sir  Charleroy  is  not  there.  He  went  mad  ;  the  devil 
stole  his  skull  and  left  his  brain  uncovered  to  be 
scratched  by  a  million  of  bats.  That's  why  he  went 
mad ;  I  know  him ;  he  went  mad,  and  is  mad  yet,  and 
you  get  away  with  your  lying !  " 

The  daughter  fled  in  terror  at  the  succeeding  out 
burst  of  wild  profanity ;  but  she  was  still  rejoiced,  that  a 
chord  of  memory  had  been  struck.  It  gave  a  harsh 
response,  yet  it  gave  a  response,  and  that  was  much. 
She  continued  her  efforts  as  before.  The  interviews 
were  not  fruitless,  but  they  were  costing  her  fearfully. 
She  complained  to  no  one,  yet  her  youthful  locks,  in  a 
few  months  streaked  with  silver,  told  the  story  of 
suffering. 

One  day  there  was  delivered  at  the  Grand  Master's  a 
huge  package  directed  to  herself.  Miriamne,  filled 
with  wonder,  called  help  to  open  the  case.  Just  under 
the  cover  she  beheld  a  letter.  She  knew  the  hand 
writing.  It  was  her  mother's.  Her  heart  took  a  great 
leap,  and  as  a  flash  of  joy  there  ran  through  her  mind 
the  thought : 

"  Mother  has  sent  something  to  help.  Perhaps  it's 
her  clothing,  and  she  is  coming  !  " 

Tremblingly  Miriamne  read  the  epistle.  How 
formal : 

"  MIRIAMNE  DE  GRIFFIN  : — Thou  went'st  without  my 
leave.  Do  not  return  till  sent  for.  Thou  left'st  a  loving 
mother  for  a  worthless  father,  and  this  is  a  daughter's 


Consolatrix  Afflictorum.  379 

reward.  Thou  dost  say  Sir  Charleroy  is  mad.  I  knew 
it,  and  think  that  the  curse  is  descending  on  thee. 
But  1  doubt  not  the  man  has  cunning  in  his  madness, 
and  has  prompted  thee  to  inveigle  me  into  his  toils 
again.  Once  he  had  me  in  England,  and  there  he  put 
me  on  the  rack  of  his  merciless  temper  and  lust ! 
Shame  on  him  for  that  time  !  Shame  on  me  if  he  have 
opportunity  to  repeat  it !  I  send  thee  a  comforter. 
Put  it  before  his  eyes,  and  tell  him  that  the  woman  of 
Bozrah  is  before  him.  Tell  him  that  she,  like  Rizpah 
of  old,  is  true  to  the  death  to  her  sons,  and,  while 
waking,  never  forgets  to  curse  the  vultures  !  " 

No  love  was  added,  There  was  no  name  appended. 
Miriamne  felt  like  one  disowned.  She  dreaded  to 
examine  the  contents  of  the  case  ;  but  a  servant,  who 
began  the  opening  just  then,  spread  it  out.  As  she 
suspected,  after  she  had  read  the  letter,  it  was  the  (to 
her)  hateful  picture  of  ancient  Rizpah. 

It  was  evening,  and  the  maiden  sought  a  refuge 
from  her  troubles  in  the  park.  It  was,  on  her  part, 
another  flight  from  the  face  of  Rizpah  of  Gibeah ; 
another  seeking  of  solitude  from  man  that  she  might 
gain  that  sense  of  nearness  to  the  Eternal  Father 
under  the  calm,  silent  stars  of  His  canopy  It  was 
like  that  flight  from  the  old  stone  house  of  Bozrah  to 
the  chapel  of  Father  Adolphus  that  she  had  made 
long  before. 

The  maiden's  course  brought  her  to  the  "  White 
Madonna,"  and  there  she  found  her  counselor  and 
brother,  the  chaplain.  He  had  heard  that  Miriamne 
was  desponding  that  day,  and  had  bent  his  course 
hither,  confident  that  the  "  Consolatrix  Afflictorum" 
would  prove  a  tryst.  The  scenery  around  Pallas- 
Athene  was  the  finer  by  far,  but  to  a  troubled  heart 
there  was  the  more  allurement  in  the  place  where  the 


380  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

love  of  heaven  was  expressed.  The  Minerva  expressed 
self-sufficiency ;  the  "  White  Madonna,"  God's  suffi 
ciency.  One  expressed  justice,  culture,  the  perfection 
of  human  gifts,  regnant  and  victorious ;  the  other 
spoke  of  welcome,  healing,  mercy,  and  help  for  those 
who  were  in  pitiable  needs.  The  virgin  evolved  by 
the  philosophers  of  the  Greeks  was  a  concept  touching 
but  few  of  humanity,  and  fitted  to  be  crowned  only  in 
a  world  of  perfections,  such  as  has  not  yet  existed. 
The  "  White  Madonna"  depicted  a  real  character  who 
had  a  human  heart  and  heavenly  traits,  and  that  easily 
found  acceptance  in  human  affections. 

The  maiden  and  her  counselor  sat  together  for  a 
long  time ;  she  speaking  of  her  social  miseries,  he  of 
God's  remedies ;  she  describing  the  thickness  of  the 
night  about  her;  he  telling  her  in  beautiful  parables 
that  there  was  a  refuge  and  an  asylum,  though  the 
night  obscured  all  for  a  time.  As  they  conversed  the 
rising  moon  flooded  the  "  White  Madonna "  with 
silvering  light,  and  the  chaplain  rapturously  ex 
claimed  : 

"  See,  the  moon  gets  its  light  from  the  sun,  and  gives 
it  to  the  image.  We  do  not  see  the  4  sun,  but  we 
see  its  work  and  glory  reflected  !  So  God  hands  down 
from  heaven  to  His  children,  by  His  angels  and  minis 
ters,  the  powers  and  blessings  that  they  need.  Mir- 
iamne,  we  have  a  Father  who  forgets  none  and  is 
munificent  to  all !  " 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

THE   WEDDING   AT   CANA. 

J  ii  would  I  were  an  excellent  divine 

That  had  the  Bible  at  my  fingers'  ends  ; 
That  men  might  hear  out  of  this  mouth  of  mine 
How  God  doth  make  His  enemies  His  friends  ; 
Rather  than  with  a  thundering  and  long  prayer 
Be  led  into  presumption,  or  despair." 

— BRETON. 

"Hear  ye  Him.     Whatever  He  saith  unto  you,  do  it." — MAR\ 


HAPLAIN  WOELFKIN  heard  of  Mir- 
iamne's  reply  from  her  mother.  He  was 
both  glad  and  sorry  thereat ;  sorry  the 
heart  he  tenderly  esteemed  should  have 
been  so  wounded,  and  glad  that  the  wounding  afforded 
him  opportunity  to  show  how  gently  and  wisely  he 
could  comfort. 

"  Your  trial  came  at  a  fortunate  time,  sister." 
"  I  can  not  see  how  such  a  rebuke  can  ever  be  timely, 
being  unjust  and  cruel." 

"True  enough;  but  if  fate  must  assail,  it  is  well  to 

have  its  hardships  fall  on  us  when  we  are  supported  by 

dawning  hopes.     There  are  hopes  near  for  Miriamne." 

"  Let   not    my  brother's  warm  heart   give  me   false 

comfort.     I've  no  sight  of  hope." 

"  Say  not  so  ;  there  is  a  surprise  in  store  for  you.' 
"  Now,  pray,  explain/' 


382  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  You  will  be  permitted  to  meet  your  father  at  the 
chapel  service  to-night." 

"Oh,  but — !"  and  Miriamne  bowed  her  head  and 
waved  her  hand  as  if  to  repel  some  unpleasant  specta 
cle. 

"  Be  not  perturbed,  sister.  Let  me  explain  :  You 
came  hither  to  seek  your  demented  parent,  hoping 
that  love  would  find  a  way  to  compass  his  healing. 
The  purpose  and  effort  were  alike  noble  and  wise. 
You  lost  heart  because  the  results  were  slow  to  appear  ; 
but  the  good  seed  was  sown,  and  now  for  the  fruit." 

"  Has  my  father  recovered  ?  " 

"  He  has  improved,  and  to-night  we'll  sit  quietly 
while  we  apply  the  balm  of  Gilead." 

"  Now  am  I  in  a  mystery." 

"  Miriamne's  ministries  have  touched  a  responsive 
chord  in  Sir  Charleroy's  heart  and  fitted  him  to  attend 
our  mind-cure  services.  Love  is  the  surest  remedy 
for  a  mind  gone  down  under  the  ruins  of  the  crushed 
neart.  Sir  Charleroy  calls  his  daughter  '  Naaman's 
little  maid,'  and  but  yesterday  said  :  '  Ah,  she'll  take 
me  to  healing  Jordan  yet  !  ' ' 

"  Blessed  be  God,"  devoutly  exclaimed  the  maiden, 
glancing  heavenward. 

"  To  which  I  say  '  amen,'  assured  that  great  things 
will  come  through  our  '  BirtJi  of  Peace.'  ' 

"  And  what  is  that,  pray?  " 

"We  are  trying  to  soothe  the  tumultuous  minds  of 
our  asylum  patients  by  displaying  sweet  peace  in 
picture  garbs.  To-night  by  the  aid  of  a  musical  and 
illustrative  service  we  shall  depict,  in  the  chapel,  the 
Birth  of  Jesus.  But  I'll  not  explain  further  now. 
Wait  until  the  hour  of  service,  sister." 


The  Wedding  at  Cana.   •  385 

When  the  people  were  gathered,  Miriamne,  glowing 
with  hope,  yet  silenced  by  anxiety,  was  in  the  midst 
of  the  assembly.  The  preliminary  services  moved 
slowly  along  with  a  studied  absence  of  hurry.  Miriamne 
could  not  give  them  her  attention;  she  was  disappointed 
because  she  did  not  see  her  father  present,  and  the 
chaplain  himself  was  not  there.  Presently  the  music 
of  the  occasion  arrested  her  attention.  She  followed 
its  movement  and  found  it  gaining  control  of  her  feel 
ings.  There  was  an  organ  in  soft,  quiet  tones  leading 
voices  that  murmured  words  of  trust  and  rest.  She 
followed  the  flowing  tide  of  melody  again  and  again, 
each  time  further,  higher,  more  contentedly,  until  one 
strain,  expressive  of  serene  triumph,  lifted  her  to  a 
very  third  heaven  of  satisfaction.  There  it  left  her 
almost  at  a  loss  to  say  where  the  melody  ceased  and 
the  remembering  began. 

At  that  instant,  the  chaplain  passed  by  her  side, 
robed  in  white,  hurriedly  whispering  so  she  alone 
could  hear :  "  Your  father  is  behind  the  screen  of 
Templar  banners,  quietly  listening.  Be  hopeful  and 
pray.  God  is  good  !  "  The  words  to  her  soul  were  as 
rain  whisperings  to  spring  flowers  in  a  torrid  noon. 

Advancing  to  the  raised  platform,  the  young  man 
told  the  story  of  Bethlehem,  ending  with  a  beautiful 
description  of  the  angel  song  of  "  Peace  on  earth,  good 
will  to  men."  The  words  of  the  speaker  were  quietly 
spoken,  and  his  address  mostly  like  that  of  one  convers 
ing  with  a  few  friends ;  but  the  words  were  very  impress 
ive.  When  all  had  bowed  to  receive  the  benediction, 
Miriamne,  lifting  her  eyes,  beheld  her  father  sitting, 
with  the  flag  screen  thrown  aside,  full  in  view,  but 
clad  as  a  knight  and  without  manacle  or  guard.  For 


384  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

a  moment  he  sat  thus,  then  arose  and  calmly  moved 
out  of  the  chapel  toward  his  lodge.  She  obeyed  a  sud 
den  impulse  and  rose  to  speed  after  him,  but  the  restrain, 
ing  hand  of  the  Grand  Master  was  laid  on  her  arm : 

"  Wait  ;  not  yet,  daughter." 

Renewed  hope  made  it  easy  for  her  to  comply,  and 
she  sat  down  again  filled  with  gratitude  toward  God. 
A  series  of  similar  services  followed,  each  bringing  new 
causes  for  hopefulness  to  the  maiden. 

"  We  are  going  to  Cana  to-day,  sister,"  remarked 
the  young  chaplain  some  weeks  subsequent  to  the 
"  Birth  of  Peace  "  service= 

"  To  Cana? " 

"  To  Cana,  and  for  a  purpose." 

"  I  can  not  fathom  it,  brother." 

Then  the  young  man  explained  to  his  fair  hearer  the 
scripture  event,  and  the  method  devised  for  presenting 
it  at  the  chapel,  as  intended  that  day. 

The  patients  and  their  friends  were  assembled  in  the 
chapel  again.  Sir  Charleroy  among  them,  but  silent 
and  absorbed  with  his  own  thoughts. 

"  We  are  going  to  try  a  device  to  gain  his  attention," 
whispered  the  chaplain  to  Miriamne.  Just  then  the 
Grand  Master,  dressed  in  the  full  regalia  of  a  knight, 
ascended  the  platform  and  uncovered  to  view  a  huge 
earthen  vessel,  remarking:  "Friends,  we  want  to 
exhibit  this  evening  a  vessel,  on  its  way  now  to 
France,  but  left  for  a  time  in  our  custody  by  some  of 
our  comrade  Crusaders,  who  brought  it  from  Cana  in 
Galilee." 

"Knights,"  "Crusaders,"  "  Caria  !  "  murmured  Sir 
Charleroy,  as  if  in  soliloquy.  Miriamne  observed  her 
father's  eyes.  They  were  no  longer  leaden ;  they 


The  Wedding  at  Cana.  ,  385 

with  interest.  "You  all  remember,"  continued 
the  Grand  Master,  "  how  Jesus  turned  the  water  into 
wine  at  Cana?  Tradition  informs  us  that  this  before 
us  is  one  of  the  identical  water-pots  used  that  time  by 
our  Savior  ;  but  I'll  leave  our  chaplain  to  tell  the  rest.'' 
The  youth  took  his  position  at  the  pulpit  and  began 
informally  to  talk,  as  if  in  conversation,  but  he  had 
anxiously,  carefully  prepared  for  the  occasion. 

He  first  pictured  Cana,  with  its  limestone  houses, 
sittingon  the  side  of  the  highlands,  a  few  miles  north 
east  of  Nazareth.  "This  place,"  he  continued,  "is the 
reminder  of  t\vo  instructive  events.  I  have  their  his 
tory  here."  Thereupon,  Cornelius  turned  to  an  illumi 
nated  volume  and  began  reading,  with  passing  com 
ments.  As  he  read,  Sir  Charleroy  closely  watched  the 
reader;  the  puzzled  look  of  the  listener  faded  into  sat 
isfied  attention. 

"  Jesus  was  proclaimed  the  Lamb  of  God,  near  Cana,  by 
that  vehement,  self-starving  Baptist  John.  But  in  habits 
and  manner  of  living  John  and  Jesus  were  utterly  dissimi 
lar.  There  was  harmony  in  the  great  things,  faith  and  char 
ity  in  all  things." 

The  mad  knight  nodded  inquiringly. 

The  student  continued: 

"  Jesus,  the  organizer  of  the  new  kingdom,  at  Cana, 
unfolded  one  part  of  His  policy,  for  nigh  here  twain  ques 
tioned  :  lWheie  dwell cst  thou'l'  Jesus  instantly  invited 
them  to  His  own  abode.  They  dwelt  with  Him  a  day, 
and  were  won  to  be  His  loyal  disciples,  thus  attesting 
the  power  of  Christ  in  the  home.  And  they  got  a  home 
religion,  for  one  of  these,  Andrew,  at  once  sought  to  win 
his  brother  Peter  to  discipleship.  On  the  eve  of  Cana's 
wedding  feast  Jesus  won  Philip,  saying,  '  Fellow  me,'  and 
Philip  hasted  to  win  Nathaniel,  crying,  '  Come  and  see.' 
To  these  He  spoke  of  a  hereafter  home  with  open  doors  and 
a  holy  family.  Each  of  Jesus's  true  disciples  was  impelled 


$86  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

to  haste  and  tell  salvation's  story  to  his  nearest  kin.  Chris 
tianity  is  a  feast  beginning  in  the  home  circle  and  spread 
ing  to  all  the  earth." 

The  mad  knight,  as  he  listened,  cast  a  glance  of  in 
quiry  over  his  shoulder  at  those  near  him. 

"  Sir  Charleroy  applies  the  lesson  to  himself,"  whis 
pered  the  Grand  Master  to  Mariamne. 

Cornelius  went  on : 

"  Cana  was  the  home  of  Nathaniel.  We  see  this  poor 
man  sitting  in  seclusion  under  a  fig  tree.  Except  his 
doubts,  he  was  alone.  To  him  Jesus  went,  and  at  the  door 
of  his  own  home  the  Master  met  him.  Because  Nathaniel 
believed,  on  little  evidence,  God  gave  him  more,  and  prom 
ised  him  that  he  should  see  heaven  open  and  the  angels 
ascending  and  descending,  as  in  Jacob's  vision.  So  are 
those  winged  messengers  passing  back  and  forth  forever,  to 
minister  to  and  comfort  needy  man.  One  may  be  lost  to 
the  world,  to  friends,  to  himself,  but  never  lost  to  the  Good 
Shepherd,  who  is  like  the  one  in  the  parable  leaving  the 
ninety  and  nine  to  follow  the  lamb  that  was  straying." 

Sir  Charleroy's  head  bowed,  and  Miriamne  was  glad, 
for  she  saw  the  tears  falling  thick  and  fast  down  his 
pallid  cheeks. 

A  sign  from  the  attending  physicians  brought  the 
services  quietly  to  a  close.  They  had  seen  the  emo 
tion  of  the  knight,  and  desired  that  the  feelings  aroused 
be  permitted  to  quietly  ebb. 

A  few  days  later,  by  their  advice,  the  Grand  Master 
summoned  the  chaplain  of  the  Palestineans  to  hold  an 
other  service  like  the  last.  "  Sir  Charleroy  was  blessed 
that  last  day.  He  evinces  interest  and  natural  reason 
ings.  Since  the  former  service  he  has  repeated  the 
story  of  Cana  over  and  over,  together  with  the  sub 
stance  of  thy  discourse  thereon.  Besides  that,  he 
never  tires  of  inquiring  about  the  'ruddy  priest  of  the 
sweet  words,'  "  said  the  physician. 


The  Wedding  at  Cana.  .  387 

*4 1  obey,  my  Master,  it's  God's  will.  What  shall  be 
my  theme  ?  " 

"  Oh,  Cana  continued;  De  Griffin  is  constantly  in 
quiring  as  to  when  the  ruddy  priest  of  the  sweet  words 
is  to  continue  the  tale  of  the  Cana,"  said  the  Grand 
Master. 

"  Praise  the  Day  Spring  that  hath  visited  us  !  " 

"You  echo  the  thought  of  all  our  souls,  Cornelius.' 

And  it  was  so  that  on  the  day  following  the  chapel 
of  the  "  House  of  Rest  "  was  filled  with  much  the  same 
company  that  met  there  the  last  time. 

Miriamne  arrived  early  and  eagerly  questioned  Cor 
nelius  as  he  passed  her  on  his  way  to  his  robing-room: 

"  Oh,  brother,  hast  thou  a  message  of  grace  and 
hope  for  me,  to-day?" 

"  The  entrance  of  thy  word  givcth  ligJit"  was  his 
quiet  reply;  and  he  passed  on,  not  daring  to  tarry  near 
the  woman  that  so  strangely  moved  him.  He  felt 
very  serious,  and  hence  avoided  that  which  might  dis 
tract  his  attention. 

But  Miriamne  felt  assured,  while  Cornelius  was  all 
faith  in  the  efficacy  of  the  Divine  word  in  working  the 
cure  of  minds  perturbed. 

Presently  he  stood  behind  his  reading-desk  and, 
waiting  until  the  organ  tone  had  died  away,  com 
menced  by  reading  these  words  : 

"And  the  third  day  there  was  a  marriage  in  Cana  of 
Galilee  ;  and  the  mother  of  Jesus  was  there  : 

''And  both  Jesus  was  called,  and  his  disciples,  to 
the  marriage." 

Sir  Charleroy  had  entered  the  chapel,  and  was  mov 
ing  toward  a  lonely  ^eat ;  his  motions  were  languid  ; 
nis  action  listless,  except  when  at  intervals  he  gazed 


388  The  Queen  of  t lie  House  of  David. 

into  the  empty  air  and  hissed  some  incoherent  words 
at  imaginary  people.  But  the  word  "  Cana  "  arrested 
his  attention.  He  looked  up,  smiled,  and  then  ex 
claimed  :  "  Oh,  the  red-faced  !  That's  it ;  tell  us  more, 
more  of  Cana  !  " 

Cornelius  complied.  "  We  have  here  a  story  of  two 
lives  in  the  most  precious  tie  on  earth,  marriage." 

Then  the  chaplain  read  : 

"  We  see  Christ  at  a  Jewish  wedding,  and  the  Hebrew 
marriage  was  ever  an  occasion  of  great  joy.  Not  only  so, 
but  the  weddings  of  that  people  were  characterized  by  very 
instructive  and  impressive  ceremonies.  Let  me  explain. 
The  day  before  the  wedding  both  bride  and  groom  fasted, 
confessed  their  sins  and  made  ceremonial  atonement  for  the 
errors  of  their  past  lives.  They  were  to  be  part  of  each 
other,  and  felt  that  each  owed  it  to  the  other  to  be  free 
from  burden  or  taint  of  the  past.  Both  bride  and  groom  at 
the  wedding  wore  wreaths  of  myrtle,  the  emblem  of  justice, 
constantly  to  typify  that  virtue  as  supreme  in  wedlock." 

"  Oh,  young  priest,  thou  art  an  angel !  " 
The  voice  startled  all  but  Sir  Charleroy.      He  had 
spoken,  yet  his  face  indicated  only  placidity  and  inter 
est.     Cornelius  proceeded  : 

"  The  bride,  veiled  from  head  to  foot  to  show  that  her 
beauty  was  to  be  seen  only  by  him  to  whom  she  gave  her 
self,  decked  with  a  girdle,  emblem  of  strength  and  subjec 
tion,  was  led  in  triumph  from  the  home  of  her  father  to  the 
home  of  him  who  was  to  possess  her.  Before  she  took  her 
departure,  kindly  hands  anointed  her  with  sweet  perfumes 
and  gave  her  priceless  jewels  ;  while  on  her  way  she  was 
met  by  all  her  friends,  singing  songs  and  bearing  torches  to 
gladden  her  journey  toward  her  new  abode.  Thus  they  that 
loved  the  bride  did  bestir  themselves  to  bestow  bounties  and 
make  the  maiden  most  choice.  There  was  no  detraction. 
no  defiling,  no  effort  to  belittle.  Were  wives  aided  like 
brides  there  would  be  fewer  broken  hearts  arrong  wedded 
women." 


The  Wedding  at  Cana. '  389 

"Wondrous  true,  ruddy  priest !"  It  was  the  mad 
knight's  voice.  Cornelius  continued  : 

"  The  feast  of  the  wedding  lasted  seven  days.  To  such 
a  gathering  Jesus  once  went.  Probably  this  was  the  marriage 
of  a  kinsman.  Thus,  immediately  after  His  temptation  and 
His  baptism,  with  His  mighty  redemptional  work  all  before 
Him,  our  Lord  deemed  it  a  leading  duty  to  give  proper  at 
tention  to  this  wedding  ceremonial,  one  of  the  lesser  things 
that  make  up  so  much  of  life.  With  man  supreme  selfish 
ness,  or  natural  littleness,  engenders  apathy  to  all  except 
some  pre-occupying  purpose,  but  He,  in  whom  all  fullness 
dwells,  entered  into  and  embraced  around  about  all  life. 
He  was  as  glorious  when  meddling  with  human  joys  and 
making  the  waters  of  Cana  blush  to  wine,  as  when  grappling 
with  the  sorrows  of  sin  and  setting  Himself  up  on  Calvary 
the  beacon  and  light  of  the  ages." 

Miriamne  felt  the  illumination  again  that  first  came 
to  her  that  Easter-day  at  Bozrah,  while  Sir  Charleroy's 
face  glowed  with  intelligence  and  peace.  This  was  a 
full,  round  gospel  which  Cornelius  was  proclaiming,  and 
every  soul  present  was  fed. 

After  pausing  for  an  interlude  of  soothing  music  he 
again  proceeded  with  his  discoursing  as  one  conversing  : 

"At  Cana,  Christ  bound  as  a  captive,  natural  law. 
How  He  did  so  we  do  not  know,  but  we  do  know  that 
while  destroying  no  part  of  nature's  system  he  mys 
teriously  made  it  serve  for  human  happiness  in  a  way 
unusual  and  marvelous.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  story 
of  Cana  is  a  fireside  story.  No  matter  how  miserable 
a  home  may  be,  it  may  have  faith  that  in  welcoming 
the  Divine  guest  it  welcomes  assured  miraculous  joy. 
Life's  waters  may  blush  everywhere  to  heaven's  wine  !  " 

The  mad  knight  murmured:  "  Oh,  ruddy  priest !  if 
thou  couldsc  only  preach  this  in  Bozrah." 

The  Grand  Master,  who  was  sitting   by  Miriamnr 


390  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

pressed  her  hand  and  whispered  :  "  Memory  is  reviving 
— praise  to  the  Day-Spring!" 

Cornelius  again  read  his  parchment. 

"And  when  they  wanted  wine,  the  mother  of  Jesus 
saith  unto  him,  They  have  no  wine. 

"  Jesus  saith  unto  her,  Woman,  what  have  I  to  do 
with  thee?  Mine  hour  is  not  yet  come." 

"  So,"  said  the  reader,  "  these  folks  were  likely  poor, 
the  supply  meager,  though  no  man  ever  yet  had  enough 
of  the  wine  of  joy  at  his  wedding  until  it  was  blessed 
by  the  God  of  marriage." 

Just  then  Sir  Charleroy,  standing  up,  solemnly  said  : 
"Young  man,  I'd  have  thee  tell  these  people  why  He 
said  'Woman,  what  have  I  to  do  with  thee?  '  He,  the 
man,  was  master,  that  was  it,  eh  ?  " 

"  Oh,  motion  to  Cornelius  not  to  debate,"  whispered 
Miriamne  to  the  Grand  Master;  but  Cornelius  was  al 
ready  adroitly  replying  : 

"True,  knight  of  Saint  Mary,  but  this  Master  of 
ceremonies  was  Divine.  Then  He  was  not  calking  to 
his  wife.  He  had  not  wed  this  woman,  hence  was  not 
bound  by  the  law  of  being  her  other  self.  Besides  that 
we  must  not  forget  that  they  had  often  conversed  in 
timately  before  the  wedding;  she  with  all  the  tender 
ness  of  a  woman's  heart,  which  in  its  love  ever  natur 
ally  outruns  all  plans,  all  reasonings,  to  bestow  all  it 
has  at  once  upon  the  all-beloved.  She  hurried  Christ 
in  the  vvay  of  giving.  This  to  her  credit,  if  her  wis 
dom  is  reproved." 

The  knight  settled  back  in  his  seat,  his  face  very 
pale  but  not  anger-marked. 

Cornelius  continued  :  "The  term  'woman'  is  often 
used,  as  here,  in  all  tenderness.  Our  ruggcu  language 


The  Wedding  at  Cana.  391 

ill  translates  the  original.  When  a  people  has  not  fine 
moods  in  its  living,  its  language  becomes  like  sack 
cloth,  unfit  to  clothe  the  angel-like  thoughts  of  those 
who  live  on  more  exalted  planes.  The  gross  degrade 
all  their  companions,  whether  such  be  beings  or  merely 
words." 

The  leader  again  read  : 

"  His  mother  saith  unto  the  servants,  Whatsoever 
he  saith  unto  you,  do  it." 

"  This  shows  the  good,  motherly  Mary  supplementing 
the  Master's  work.  Doubtless,  she  had  her  partisans,  some 
who  would  have  sided  with  her  had  she  chosen  to  rebuke 
her  Son.  But  she  desired  harmony  at  the  feast  and  in  the 
home.  This  was  the  chief  end,  and  for  it  she  was  willing 
to  serve  and  wait" 

"  Very  true  !     Our  Lady  was  always  right  and  good." 
It  was  the  voice  of  the  mad  knight. 
Cornelius  continued  : 

"  These  were  the  finest  words  Mary  ever  spoke  ;  they 
were  the  key  to  her  whole  life  ;  indeed,  the  spirit  of  the 
ideal  woman  ever  more  standing  nearer  to  Christ  than  any 
other  being  ;  at  a  wedding,  the  very  climax  of  fullest  human 
love,  the  gateway  to  home,  the  counterpart  of  heaven,  Mary 
points  all  to  the  Christ,  exclaiming,  '  Hear  ye  Him  !  '  ' 

"  Our  Lady  was  always  a  wise,  brave,  loving,  sub 
missive  woman,"  exclaimed  Sir  Charleroy. 

"It  is  an  old  tradition,"  replied  Cornelius,  "  that 
this  was  the  wedding  of  John,  the  beloved  and  confi 
dant  of  Jesus.  It  is  interesting  to  remember  that  that 
blessed  disciple,  in  his  Gospel,  presents  the  one  whom 
he  loved  as  a  mother  but  twice — once  at  this  wedding, 
the  other  time  at  the  crucifixion  ;  the  places  of  highest 
joy,  and  deepest  sorrow  ;  a  way  of  saying  from  the  altar 
to  the  cross,  is  woman's  course  ;  a  parable-like  present- 


392  The  Queen  of  tJie  House  of  David. 

ment  of  the  doctrine  that  the  wife  and  mother  are  to 
appear  at  these  two  points,  so  opposite,  so  common  to 
all  ;  the  lowest  dip,  the  highest  heaven." 

The  mad  knight  suddenly  interrupted  them. 

"  What  did  Joseph  think  of  all  this?  " 

Perhaps  this  odd  query  was  fortunate,  for  it  brought 
smiles  to  all.  The  knight  laughed  out  until  his  eyes 
were  flowing  with  tears. 

Cornelius,  self-possessed,  quietly  replied  :  "  It  is  said 
that  Joseph  was  dead  long  ere  this  wedding,  and  that 
Mary  was  exhaling  the  perfumes  of  her  consecrated 
widowed  life  to  gladdening  in  pious  ministries  the  peo 
ple  about  her.  Widowhood  has  such  purposes." 

"Ah,  she  was  the  Rose,"  cried  the  knight.  "If 
Joseph  were  not  dead,  he  might  well  stand  back,  be 
hind  such  a  wife  !  " 

The  chaplain  of  the  Palestineans  closed  with  a  well- 
worded  climax,  recalling  the  fact  that  this  event  made 
a  lasting  impression  on  the  Son  of  God,  as  evinced  by 
the  v/ondrous  tropes  of  the  Apocalypse,  where  eternal 
goodness  and  eternal  joy  are  pictured  under  the  simili 
tude  of  a  wedding-feast. 

The  mad  knight  cried  out :  "  Grand,  grand  !  Oh, 
ruddy  priest,  I  worship  thee!" 

The  Grand  Master  signaled  the  conclusion.  The 
worshipers  and  patients  were  slowly  retiring,  Sir 
Charleroy  moving  toward  his  lodge  seemingly  wrapped 
in  contemplation  of  some  engrossing  problem. 

He  passed  near  the  picture  of  "  Rizpah  Defending 
Her  Relatives,"  which  by  some  mischance  had  been 
left  near  the  chapel  door.  Instantly  the  knight's  at 
tention  was  fixed  ;  he  became  excited,  then  suddenly 
turning  to  an  attendant,  exclaimed : 


TJic  Wedding  at  Cana.  393 

"  Here,  tell  me,  where  am  I  ?  Is  this  London  or 
Bozrah  ?  " 

"  London,  good  Teuton." 

Again  he  gazed  at  the  picture,  and  his  transforma 
tion  was  startling.  His  face  was  distorted,  his  body 
became  rigid  and  swayed  as  that  of  the  hooded  snake 
making  ready  to  strike  a  victim.  Then  bounding  to 
the  Grand  Master's  side  he  snatched  the  latter's  sword 
from  its  hilt,  quickly  returned  to  the  picture,  and  be 
fore  any  could  prevent  him  began  to  hack  it  to  pieces. 

One  tried  to  restrain  him,  but  was  overpowered,  two, 
then  three  were  flung  aside.  Presently  he  was  pinioned 
but  not  silenced. 

"  Away  !  Unhand  me  !  "  he  shouted.  "  In  the  name 
of  the  King  of  Jerusalem,  the  defenders  of  the  Sepul- 
cher,  unhand  me!  Do  you  not  see?  There!  they've 
come  to  make  riot  at  the  feast  of  Cana  !  Ruddy  priest, 
come  quickly.  Help  !  This  fearful  gang  will  all  be 
loose  in  a  moment  ;  they  be  the  ghosts  of  the  giants, 
and  war  everlastingly  against  the  peace  of  homes ; 
against  our  Mary  and  her  Son's  kingdom." 

He  was  breathless  for  a  moment,  and  all  were  anx 
ious  lest  he  be  permanently  unsettled.  Some  were 
praying  for  him,  others  holding  him.  Then  he  broke 
forth  again  as  before. 

"  Unhand  me,  infidels  !  God  wills  it !  Let  me  cut  to 
pieces  yon  horrible  thing  fresh  from  hot  hell;  painted 
by  the  gory  and  beslimed  hands  of  devils  !  See  !  it's 
bewitched,  and  the  woman  and  the  hanging  men  and 
the  vultures  are  all  alive!  They'll  be  at  us!  One  of 
those  black  birds  has  feasted  on  my  heart  for  years, 
and  yon  woman  has  nightly  beaten  my  bare  brain  with 
her  club." 


394  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David, 

They  tried  to  calm  him  ;  his  daughter  pressed  to  his 
side,  and  flinging  her  arms  about  the  knight,  beseech 
ing]^  cried:  "Father!  father!  it  is  I!  Miriamne  !  " 

"Miriamne?  Ha!  ha!"  cried  the  excited  man. 
"More  mockery!  More  witchery!  Miriamne  is  lost, 
eternally  lost !  Yon  group  of  demons  tore  her  from 
me!  Oh,  God,  if  thou  lovest  a  soldier  of  the  cross, 
hear  me,  and  blast  with  burning,  swift  and  quenchless 
lightnings,  yon  monsters,  and  with  them  all  who  sepa 
rate  hearts  and  wreck  homes  !  " 

"  Father,  so  say  we  all  ;  let  us  pray  together," 
pleaded  the  girl. 

"  Father  !    Who  says  '  father  '  to  me  ?  " 

"  It  is  I,  your  daughter,  Miriamne  !  " 

Suddenly,  Sir  Charleroy  became  calm  and  curiously 
observed  the  maiden.  "  Art  thou  Sir  Charleroy's 
daughter?  I  knew  him  once  in  Palestine.  He  died 
afterward  in  London  and  left  me  his  body.  But  it's 
not  much  use.  It's  sick  most  of  the  time.  I  carry  it 
about,  though,  hoping  he'll  come  for  it.  If  thou  dost 
want  it  thou  canst  have  it." 

The  daughter  humored  the  fancy,  and  quickly 
replied  :  "  I  do  want  it.  I  love  it.  I'll  help  you  take 
care  of  it.  Let  me  now  hug  it  to  my  heart." 

Then  he  permitted  her  to  twine  about  him  her  arms, 
and  when  she  kissed  him  the  second  time  he  returned 
the  salutation,  and  tears  ran  down  his  hot  cheeks. 

"  Blessed  be  the  God  of  peace,"  fervently  ejaculated 
Cornelius.  "  The  day  dawns;  after  tears,  light." 

The  knight  continued  after  a  time,  addressing  Miri 
amne  : 

"  Sir  Charleroy  was  my  friend  ;  and  thou  art  his 
daughter?  Thou  wouldst  not  deceive  me,  I  know, 


The  Wedding  at  Cana.  395 

Tell  me  in  a  few  words,"  he  said,  meanwhile  furtively 
glancing  about,  "  Who  am  I  ?  " 

Miriamne  again  humored  him,  and  pressing  her  lips 
nigh  his  ear,  in  a  whisper  replied  :  "  Sir  Charleroy, 
Teutonic  knight,  my  father." 

The  old  man  held  her  off  a  little  way,  gazed  at  her 
a  moment,  doubtfully,  then  said  :  "Thou  art  large  for 
a  baby !  Miriamne  is  a  little  thing."  Then  he  con 
tinued  :  "  But  thy  eyes,  they  are  Miriamne's  ;  and  so 
honest !  I  believe  them  !  Then  thou  art  Miriamne 
and  I  Sir  Charleroy?" 

"Truly."     And  again  she  kissed  her  father. 

"  But  thou  dost  not  want  me — a  wreck,  a  pauper!  " 

"  I  do,  and  the  boys  do  ;  all  Bozrah  wants  you,  needs 
you." 

"Not  thy  mother!  Oh,  no  ;  I  murdered  her  long 
ago ! " 

"  Not  so,  dear  father." 

"  I  did,  indeed.  See,"  and  he  pointed  to  the  paint 
ing,  "  I've  killed  her  again,  to-day." 

"  That's  but  a  miserable  painting,  and  I  hate  it  as 
much  as  you  do  ;  but  it's  harmless,  henceforth." 

"  Are  all  the  devils  in  it  dead  ;  the  vultures  that  ate 
up  my  heart  ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes  ;  who  cares  for  them  ?  " 

"Then  I  shall  get  better." 

The  mad  knight  suffered  himself  to  be  led  away 
quietly.  There  was  great  joy  among  the  Palestineans 
that  night.  And  so  Miriamne  carried  the  spirit  of 
Mary,  that  presided  at  Cana's  feast,  into  the  misery  of 
that  English  asylum.  She  had  given  her  life  to  min 
istering  for  others,  had  be<nm  in  her  owrn  home  circle, 

o  o 

her  life  motto :  "  Hear  ye  Him  " — "  Whatsoever  He  saith 


396  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

unto  you,  do  it"  Now  she  was  rewarded,  and  began  to 
hope  that  there  would  be  the  renewal  of  wedding 
chimes  at  Bozrah,  that  the  wine  of  its  joy  would  be 
renewed  and  sweetened.  She  questioned  the  chaplain 
for  advice.  "  Tell  the  Master  there  is  no  wine  in  the 
old  stone  house,  and  '  whatsoever  He  saith,  do  it,'  "  was 
the  young  man's  answer. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE  STAR  OF  THE 


blocked  in  the  cradle  of  the  deep, 

I  lay  me  clown  in  peace  to  sleep, 

Secure,  I  rest  upon  the  wave, 

For  Thou,  oh  Lord,  hast  power  to  save» 

I  know  Thou  wilt  not  slight  my  call, 

For  Thou  dost  mark  the  sparrow's  fall, 

And  calm  and  peaceful  be  my  sleep, 

Rocked  in  the  cradle  of  the  deep. 

And  such  the  faith  that  still  were  mine 

Tho'  stormy  winds  swept  o'er  the  brine, 

Or  tho'  the  tempest's  fiery  breath 

Roused  me  from  sleep  to  wreck  and  death; 

In  ocean's  caves  still  safe  wiih  Thee, 

Those  gems  of  immortality, 

And  calm  and  peaceful  be  my  sleep 

Rocked  in  the  cradle  of  the  deep." 


IKE  the  morning  dawn  on  a  calm  sea,  aftef 
a  night  of  fierce  storm,  so  came  now  great 
peace  to  Miriamne.      The  heaviest  sorrow 
l^"~l~r^li     of  her  life  was  lifting.       Her  father  was  re 


covering  ;  his  mind  becoming  rational  ;  and  chief  of 
Miriamne's  joys,  was  the  fact  that  his  convalescence 
was  accompanied  by  the  appearance  of  a  deep  trusting 
love  for  herself.  He  seemed  to  lean  on  his  daughter 
for  help  ;  cling  to  her  for  hope  and  aim,  by  every  way, 
not  only  to  express  his  sense  of  dependence  on  but  his 
deep  arid  abiding  gratitude  toward  the  patient,  chief 


398  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

minister,  in  the  mission  of  his  recovery.  He  seemed 
for  a  long  time  to  be  haunted  by  a  fear  of  relapse  into 
some  great  misery  that  he  but  dimly  remembered 
and  could  not  define,  beyond  a  shudder.  He  dreaded 
to  be  alone,  and  often  clung  to  his  daughter  with  fur 
tive  glances  of  fear,  even  as  a  terrified  child  clings  to 
its  mother.  One  day,  months  after  he  had  begun  to 
be  rational,  he  addressed  Miriamne:  "  We  must  soon 
seek  another  abiding  place,  daughter.  Our  Grand 
Master  has  discharged  with  overflowing  payment, 
every  debt  of  hospitality." 

"True,  father,  and  I'm  glad  ;  the  thought  for  weeks 
in  my  mind,  is  now  in  yours.  But  where  shall  we 
go?" 

"  I  think,  to  France,  and  immediately." 

"France?" 

"  Yes,  there  I'll  seek  out  some  of  the  De  Griffins. 
They  may  be  able  to  mend  my  shattered  fortunes,  and 
if  I  find  none  of  my  kin,  I  shall  not  be  lacking  in  any 
thing,  for  there  are  many  of  our  Teutonic  knights. 
While  they  prosper,  no  want  shall  harass  me  or  mine." 

"  Father,  I  do  not  want  to  go  to  France." 

"  Why,  this  is  strange  ?  " 

"  It  seems  far  away,  very  far,  to  me." 

"Art  thou  dreaming,  my  Syrian  Oriole?" 

"  No,  awake  !     And  very  earnest." 

"  Why,  we  could  walk  thither,  were  it  not  for  the  wa 
ten" 

"  But  I  can  not  go  that  way !  " 

"  Well,  we  can  not  stay  here,  so  where  ?  " 

"  Eastward  ;  Bozrah  !  " 

"Wouldst  thou  ask  a  spirit,  by  mercy  permitted  es 
cape  from  Tophet  to  return?" 


"  The  Star  of  the  Sea."  399 

"Yes,  even  that,  if  the  spirit  had  a  mission  and  a 
safe  conduct." 

"Thou  art  nobler,  braver  than  I.  I  can't  trust  the 
land  of  giants  and  vultures." 

"  The  giants  and  vultures  we  must  meet  are  in  human 
forms,  and  such  are  everywhere." 

"  There  are  over  many  for  the  population,  in  Syria 
and  beyond  it." 

"  But  there  have  been  many  changes  since  you  left 
that  country,  especially,  in  our  city,"  persisted  the 
maiden. 

"  Nothing  changes  in  Palestine  or  Bozrah,  daughter^ 
except  wives,  and  they  only  one  way  ;  from  bad  to 
worse." 

The  young  chaplain  seconded  Miriamne's  efforts. 
Sir  Charleroy  was  spasmodically  the  stronger,  but 
Miriamne  by  patience  and  persistence  prevailed.  In 
time,  she  won  her  cause,  and  the  three  took  sail  for 
the  Holy  Land,  the  knight  protesting  that  he  would 
go  as  far  as  Acre  and  no  further.  The  journey  was 
slow  but  not  monotonous,  for  the  English  trader  on 
which  they  journeyed  stopped  at  various  ports.  Cor 
nelius  on  his  part  was  enjoying  a  serene  delight  that 
had  no  shadow  except  when  he  remembered  that  voy 
aging  with  Miriamne  was  to  have  an  end  ;  Miriamne  on 
her  part  had  three-fold  pleasure ;  delight  in  her  com 
panionship  with  the  young  missionary,  delight  in  the 
continued  improvement  of  her  father's  health,  and 
greater  delight  still  in  the  glowing  hope  of  the  success 
of  her  mission  of  peace  to  her  home-circle.  As  for  Sir 
Charleroy  it  suited  him  well  to  be  sailing.  Lie  was 
ever  exhilarated  by  change  ;  each  day  brought  it.  He 
was  in  theory  a  fatalist,  and  the  staunch  ship  pushing 


400  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

onward  day  and  night  to  its  destination,  carrying  all 
along,  was  an  expression  of  the  inexorable.  Then  the 
conditions  about  him  rested  him,  for  he  was  freed  from 
any  need  of  bracing  of  his  will  to  choose  or  execute 
any  thing.  He  went  forward  because  the  ship  went. 
That  was  all  and  enough.  Only  once  during  the  voy 
age  did  he  assert  himself  or  express  a  desire  to  change 
his  course.  THAT  WAS  WHEN  PASSING  CYPRUS. 

"Here,"  he  cried,  "let  me  disembark!  " 

Persuasively,  Miriamne  protested. 

"But  I  must!  I've  a  mission.  I  want  to  curse  the 
memory  of  the  recreant  Lusignan,  the  coward  '  King  of 
Jerusalem ; '  he  that  clandestinely  stole  away  from 
Acre  on  the  eve  of  those  last  days! " 

"  But,  father,  Cyprus  is  called  the  '  horned  island.' 
I  do  not  like  the  name  !  " 

"I've  heard  it  better  named,  'the  blessed  isle.' 
There  the  hospitable  knights  had  a  refuge  for  pilgrims, 
and  it  still  abides." 

Just  then  some  of  the  sailors  cried,  "  Olympus !" 
They  had  caught  sight  of  that  ancient  mountain,  the 
fabled  home  of  the  gods. 

Miriamne  adroitly  used  the  cry  to  divert  her  father's 
mind,  saying : 

"  Let  those  admire  Olympus  who  will  ;  as  for  me,  I 
prefer  holy,  fragrant  Lebanon." 

She  pointed  eastward,  and  they  saw  the  dim  outlines 
of  Palestine's  famous  range.  The  knight's  attention 
was  fixed  on  Lebanon,  and  they  sailed  past  Cyprus 
quietly  without  further  objection  on  his  part. 

Miriamne  and  Cornelius,  as  the  night  began  to  settle 
down,  stood  together  by  the  ship's  side,  feasting  on 
glimpses  of  the  distant  shore.  There  were  signs  of  z 


"  The  Star  of  the  Sea"  401 

coming  storm,  perceived  intuitively  by  those  accus 
tomed  to  the  sea,  by  the  young  watchers  best  discerned 
in  the  anxious  looks  of  the  seamen. 

"  The  captain  says  the  sky  and  sea  are  preparing  for 
a  duel.  You  noticed  how  the  blue  changed  to  dark 
brown  in  the  water  this  afternoon?  He  says  that,  and 
the  muddy  appearance  of  the  sky,  betoken  a  tempest." 

"  How  like  polished  silver  the  wings  of  those  gulls 
glisten  as  they  career  !  "  was  the  maiden's  ecstatic  reply. 

"The  wings  are  as  they  always  are.  They  glisten 
now  because  they  flash  against  a  murky  background." 

"  An  omen,  Cornelius,  for  good  !  I'll  call  the  sea- 
birds  hope's  carrier-pigeons  with  messages  for  us." 

"  I  would  we  had  their  wondrous  power  of  outriding 
all  storms.  It  is  said  they  can  sleep  on  the  waves, 
even  during  a  tempest." 

"  I've  the  heart  of  a  sea-gull,  to-night." 

"  And  not  a  dread  or  pang  within  ?  " 

"  No,  no !  Oh,  come,  any  power,  to  hurry  us  to 
Acre!  I'd  give  way  to  the  merriment  of  the  becalmed 
sailors,  who  whistle  for  the  wind,  if  I  only  knew  the 
notes  of  their  call." 

"  But  the  old  sea-captain  is  very  grave.  See  how  the 
men  at  his  command  are  lashing  up  almost  every  stitch 
of  our  ship's  dress." 

"  Oh,  well,  I'll  be  grave,  too,  to  please  you  ;  and  yet 
I  pray  that  Old  Boreas,  and  all  the  Boreadal,  come  in 
racing  hurricanes,  if  need  be,  that  we  may  be  sent  gal 
lantly  into  longed-for  Acre  !  " 

"A  storm  at  sea  is  grand  in  a  picture  or  in  imagina 
tion  ;  sometimes,  though  rarely,  in  experience.  To  be 
enjoyed  it  must  be  terrible  ;  there's  the  rub  ;  it  iray 
come  with  overmastering  fury." 


402  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"Bird  of  ill  omen  !  Why  cry  as  in  requiems?  As 
for  me,  while  you  are  fearing  going  down,  I'll  be  think 
ing  of  going  forward  !  " 

"  And  be  disappointed,  certainly,  on  your  part,  as  I 
hope  I  may  be  mistaken  on  mine.  We  may  not  go 
down  ;  we  shall  certainly  not  go  forward  !  " 

"  Now,  how  like  a  wayward  man  !  Since  you  can 
not  have  your  way,  cross  me  by  predicting  my  frus 
tration  !  " 

"  Oh,  do  not  lay  the  blame  on  me!  there  are  broader 
shoulders  to  bear  it.  Lay  the  blame  on  the  Taurus 
and  Lebanon  ranges  !  " 

"Well,  this  is  an  odd  saying,  surely  !  " 

"  Wait  awhile,  and  you  will  find  it  very  true,  as  well. 
We  are  to  meet  to-night,  most  likely,  the  Levanter  or 
off-shore  gale,  Paul's  Euroclydon,  charging  down  from 
its  mountain  castles.  Taurus  and  Lebanon  together 
form  a  cave  of  the  winds !  " 

"And  you  seem  glad  that  they  are  coming  to  battle 
us  back  ?"  spake  the  maiden,  rebukingly. 

"Yes,  if  they  prolong  our  companionship.  I  can  not 
rejoice  in  a  speed  that  hastens  our  parting." 

The  last  sentence  died  on  the  chaplain's  paling  lips 
with  a  sigh. 

The  maiden  turned  her  eyes  full  on  the  speaker, 
then  slowly,  meditatively  answered  : 

"  I  shall  be  sorry,  too,  at  our  parting  !  " 

"'Sorry!'  Ah!  that's  no  word  for  me,  this  time: 
agonized  is  better!"  was  the  young  missioner's  quick 
rejoinder. 

The  maiden  was  pained,  but  she  mastered  her  feel 
ings  and  pleaded  : 

"  The   parting  must    come   some   time ;  do  not  let 


"  The  Star  of  the  Sea."  .  403 

such  repinings  make  it  harder  for  both.  It  is  wiser, 
when  confronting  what  one  does  not  desire,  but  can  not 
help,  to  court  the  balm  of  forgetfulness.  So  do  I  ever, 
especially  now." 

"And  like  all  attempted  silencings  of  the  heart, 
by  cold  philosophy,  mocked  at  last  by  failure !  " 

"  My  philosophy  can  not  mock  me,  since  it  accords 
with  the  stern  facts  which  confront  us.  I'll  be  as 
frank  now  as  a  sister,  Cornelius.  Our  diverging  mis 
sions  part  us.  You  go  to  Jerusalem  to  preach  the 
cross  ;  I,  to  a  narrower  field,  at  Bozrah,  to  attempt  the 
rekindling  of  love  on  one  lone  altar  of  wedlock.  God 
orders  it  thus,  and  I  submit  unquestioningly ;  for  it  is 
not  for  one  who  can  scarcely  touch  the  hem  of  His 
garment  to  challenge  His  wisdom  by  a  murmur." 

"But  time,  Miriamne,  may  leave  you  free,  your 
work  being  completed  in  the  Giant  City?" 

"  Even  so.  There  is  a  gulf  between  us  ;  we  may 
love  across  it  but  not  pass  it,  in  body,  in  this  life." 

"  And  I  can  not  see  the  gulf  ?  " 

"  I  am  in  faith,  after  all,  an  Israelite ;  enlightened  to 
be  sure,  but  not  likely  to  renounce  the  ancient  beliefs. 
You  are  a  Christian  ;  nor  would  I  wish  you  otherwise. 
Now,  amid  the  miseries  I've  witnessed  in  my  own 
home,  I  can  not  but  be  admonished  against  any  at 
tempt  at  fusing,  by  the  fire  of  adolescent,  transitory 
loving,  two  lives  guided  by  faiths  so  constantly  in  antag 
onisms." 

"  The  faith  of  Jesus  and  Mary,  truly  lived,  never 
failed  to  fuse  hearts  sincerely  loving.  You  may  call 
yourself  what  you  like  ;  in  substance  of  faith  we  are  in 
accord." 

"  The  chaplain  reasons  well  ;  better  than  I  can,  and 


404  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

yet  he  does  not  convince  me !  I  can  only  plead  that 
he  do  not  persist,  and  so  make  the  parting  harder.  It 
must  be ;  though  my  heart  break,  I  must  suffer  the 
immolation.  I've  asked  this  question  in  the  awful 
sincerity  of  a  soul  as  it  were  at  the  bar  of  judgment : 
'  WJiat  milt  TJiou  have  me  to  do?'  I  know  the  answer. 
I  must  seek  to  bring  father  and  mother  together." 

"And  then?" 

"  Seek  to  know  if  the  Messiah  has  indeed  come," 

"  And  then  ?  " 

"If  I  find  He  has,  some  way  tell  His  people  Israel, 
as  only  a  Jewess  can,  of  the  Light  Everlasting." 

"And  then  ?  " 

"  Why,  that's  sufficient  to  measure  the  lives  of  gen 
erations;  but  if  I  survive  beyond  that  work,  I  have 
vaguely  passing  through  my  mind  the  coming  of  a 
millennial  day  when  all  mankind  will  be  akin  ;  all  right 
eous,  all  just,  and  the  tears  of  womankind  assuaged." 

"  I  pray  for  that,  but  how  can  we  hasten  joy  by 
breaking  our  own  hearts?  " 

"  I  do  not  know  what  lies  beyond  ;  how  that  day  of 
glory  is  to  come,  but  this  I  know,  the  spirit  of  Chivalry 
was  from  God.  It  had,  and  has  a  deep,  impressive  mean 
ing.  In  contact  with  it  at  the  west,  I  felt  all  the  time 
as  if  it  were  blind,  but  a  Samson  still,  feeling  for  the 
pillars  of  some  mighty  wrong.  I  wonder  if  I  may  not 
be  the  giant's  true  guide.  Or,  better  still,  may  I  not 
be,  under  God,  the  giantess  to  do  the  very  work.  Per 
haps  the  world  awaits  a  woman  Samson  !  " 

"What  Miriamne  says  is  to  me  all  mysticism! 
Explain." 

"  I  do  not  know  how,  beyond  this:  I'm  God's  bride 
by  consecration,  and  He  will  keep  me  for  His  work." 


"  The  Star  of  the  Sea,"  405 

"Can't  I  share  it?"  almost  piteously,  the  chaplain 
asked. 

"  Truly,  yes,  wherever  you  may  be>  with  me  or  not." 

"  Oh,  Miriamne,  your  passionate  enthusiasm  en 
trances  me.  You  are  an  inspiration  to  me.  I  fear  I 
shall  languish  aside  from  you." 

"  I  shall  love  you  more,  Cornelius,  as  you  are  more 
grandly,  heroically  self-sacrificing." 

"Any  thing  to  win  Miriamne's  constant  love !  " 

"  I  shall  love  you,  Cornelius,  In  a  deep,  holy  way, 
only  and  forever.  I'd  be  ashamed  to  be  thus  frank, 
but  that  I  have  a  love  that  is  as  pure  as  the  heaven  of 
its  birth.  Be  true  to  your  God,  to  your  mission  ;  a 
little  while  and  then  at  the  City  of  Light,  life's  brief 
dream  over,  the  first,  after  God,  I'll  ask  for  will  be  the 
faithful  man  whom  my  heart  knows." 

"  Ah,  what  can  I  do?  I'm  all  zeal  ;  willing  to  go,  but 
the  glow  of  your  cheeks,  the  flash  of  your  eyes,  even 
in  the  midst  of  such  noble  converse,  drag  me  away 
from  my  resolves.  That  that  stimulates  me,  unmans 
me,  or  reminds  rae  I  am  a  man  and  a  lover." 

"  You  ought  to  teach  me,  not  I  you ;  but  you  re 
member  you  told  me  of  the  belief  of  some  in  'penetra 
tive  virginity.'  That  is  the  purity  of  Mary  passing 
somehow  into  others.  Oh,  all  I  am  that's  good,  be  in 
you,  and  more,  even  all  that  she  was  whom  you  so 
revere ;  I  mean  the  mother  of  the  Christ." 

"In  my  soul  I  reverently  exclaim  'amen,'  but  then 
again,  how  strange  the  question  will  not  down,  '  must 
we  part  ?  ' '  And  90  saying  he  flung  his  arm  about  the 
woman,  passionately  embracing  her.  He  thought  for 
a  moment  he  had  overcome  her,  but  the  kiss  on  her 
lips  not  resisted,  was  the  end  ;  for  slowly  untwining  his 


406  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

arms  and  holding  his  hands  at  arm's  length,  she  ques 
tioned  :  "  Will  you  promise  me  one  thing?  " 

"Surely,  yes,  name  it." 

"That  you  will  think  of  me  as  a  friend,  sister, hence 
forth,  and  let  me  go  my  way  without  further  misery  ?" 

The  man  struggled  with  himself  for  a  time ;  then 
gazed  into  her  eyes  with  a  most  piteously  appealing 
gaze. 

She  was  firm. 

"  Yes — I  promise,  but  say  affianced,  to  be  wed  in 
heaven  ?  " 

"  God  bless  you,"  was  her  instant  response.  Their 
lips  met  and  the  debate  was  ended. 

And  so  for  the  time  they  separated,  persuading 
themselves  that  the  whole  matter  between  them  had 
been  finally  sealed.  They  had  all  faith  in  their  pledges 
mutually  given,  each  to  live  apart  from  the  other.  As 
yet  they  had  no  just  conception  of  the  power  of  a 
rebel  heart  constantly  uprising.  Of  course,  they  both 
foresaw  a  measure  of  wretchedness  in  the  future  as  a 
consequence  of  their  decision,  but  distant  pain  fore 
seen  by  the  young,  is  ever  dimmed  by  hope,  and  very 
different  from  present  pain.  These  twain  comforted 
themselves,  at  first,  by  the  thought  that  they  were  mar 
tyrs,  and  it  is  always  agreeable  to  feel  ourself  a  martyr, 
especially  when  expecting  a  martyr's  reward  ;  at  least 
it  is  so  until  the  reality  of  the  martyrdom  comes. 

The  sky  grew  darker,  night  shut  down  about  the 
ship,  the  winds  increased,  and  that  sense  of  awful  lone 
liness,  felt  on  the  eve  of  an  impending  night  storm  at 
sea,  came  to  all  hearts  but  those  of  the  sailors.  The 
latter  were  too  busy  to  think  of  aught  but  their  duties. 
Then  their  captain  had  his  reckonings,  and  assured 


e<  Thf  Star  of  the  Sea".  407 

them  by  his  bearing  that  he  felt  confident  that  he 
cci'.lu  outride  this  storm  as  he  had  often  before  simi 
lar  ones,  Miriamne,  yielding  not  more  to  the  captain's 
command,  than  to  the  entreaties  of  Woelfkin,  went 
below  to  her  cabin.  She  soon  courted  sleep  to  help 
her  forget  the  war  of  the  tempest,  praying  a  prayer 
most  fitting,  meanwhile.  The  prayer  was  a  medita 
tion,  like  unto  this  :  "  He  that  cares  for  all  will  care 
for  helpless  me,  and  come  what  may,  keep  me  until 
that  last  great  day."  The  storm  strengthened,  and  she 
began  to  be  anxious  for  her  father,  and  her  friend.  She 
had  said  to  herself  the  latter  title  should  define  Cor 
nelius.  But  her  heart  forgot  its  fear  a  moment  in  a 
mysterious,  merry  peal  of  laughter;  such  laughter  is 
very  real,  but  it  is  never  heard  by  human  ears.  We 
know  it  only  in  those  exalted  moments  when  we  try 
fine  introspections  ;  when  there  seems  to  be  twro  of  us; 
the  one  observing  and  entering  into  the  other.  Miri 
amne  heard  that  laughter  when  she  meditated,  "Cor 
nelius  is  just  a  friend."  Presently  she  became  more 
anxious  for  those  aloft.  Then  a  troop  of  imperious 
inner  questions  came  to  her:  "Might  I  not  stand  by 
him,  if  the  danger  increases  ?  Would  it  be  wrong  to 
show  him  that  I  am  brave  and  loving?" 

"Will  he  think  me  cowardly  and  stony-hearted  ?" 
Resolution  was  being  assailed,  and  weakened.  The 
questionings  increased  in  number  and  imperiousness: 
"  What  if  to-night  we  are  all  to  perish  ?  "  Then  she 
let  imagination  take  the  rein.  She  thought  of  a  scene 
that  might  be  if  she  and  her  beloved  were  as  be 
trothed,  soon  to  be  wed,  lovers.  In  the  scene  she  fan. 
cied  herself,  her  lover  and  her  father  all  together  in  a 
last  embrace,  going  down  into  the  yawning  waves. 


408  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  Would  my  lover  try  to  save  me  ?  "  For  the  moment 
there  were  two  of  her  again,  and  it  was  the  one  that 
awhile  ago  laughed  so  merrily,  that  now  seemed  to  be 
saying:  "Would  my  lover  try  to  save  me  ?  "  The  one 
self  heard  the  question,  and  by  silence,  without  sign  of 
rebuke,  seemed  to  give  the  other  self  plenary  indul 
gence.  Then  came  a  free  play  of  her  imagination. 
She  saw  herself  lying  in  coral  palaces,  beneath  the 
moaning  waves  of  the  Mediterranean,  still  clasping 
her  lover  and  her  parent.  Then  she  thought  of  how 
her  friends  would  receive  the  news  of  her  demise. 
Perhaps  some  poet  would  embalm  the  event  in  death 
less  poems,  and  thousands  read  of  the  three  that  per 
ished  side  by  side.  Her  mind  ran  back  to  London. 
She  imagined  a  memorial  service  at  the  chapel  of  the 
Palestineans  and  the  Grand  Master  tkere  saying :  "  Mi- 
riamne  de  Griffin  was  lost  at  sea  ;  in  the  path  of  glo 
rious  duty,  loyally  pursued  to  the  end." 

Then  she  thought  of  Bozrah  and  the  old  stone  house, 
with  her  mother  and  her  brothers,  its  sole  occupants ; 
the  mother  in  mourning  garbs,  her  spirit  subdued,  and 
she  often  tenderly  saying  to  the  fatherless,  sisterless 
boys,  "  Miriamne  was  a  good  girl,  a  faithful  daughter, 
a  noble  woman." 

But  after  all,  these  excursions  were  unsatisfactory  to 
the  young  woman.  And  naturally  so.  When  she 
thought  of  lying  a  corpse,  with  weed-winding  sheets, 
for  years,  in  the  caves  of  the  sea,  she  was  repelled. 
Thoughts  of  her  memorials,  possibly  to  transpire  at 
London  and  Bozrah,  were  not  very  comforting.  She 
was  too  young,  too  free  from  morbidness,  too  deeply 
enamored,  to  court,  assiduously,  posthumous  honors. 

Then  came  thought  of  a  wreck  and  rescue,  and  it 


"  The  Star  of  the  Sea."  409 

was  very  welcome.  It  grew  out  of  the  possibility  of 
the  youth  she  loved  and  she  alone,  of  all  on  board, 
being  saved.  She  thought  of  drifting  about  for  days 
on  a  raft !  Would  she  recall  her  resolutions  and  his,  or 
would  he  say  to  her:  "  Miriamne,  I  saved  you  from  the 
deep;  now  you  are  mine  entirely  and  forever!" 
Would  she  believe  his  claim  paramount  ?  Would 
duty's  requirements  be  satisfied  ?  Then  she  was  as 
two  again.  One  voice  said  '  yes,'  and  the  other  did  not 
concur,  neither  did  it  gainsay.  She  could  not  pro 
nounce  a  verdict  and  there  were  tears  flowing. 

The  storm  grew  stronger,  but  the  laboring  ship  rose 
and  fell  on  the  billows  at  intervals,  and  she  was  lulled 
to  sleep.  Her  last  thoughts,  as  she  passed  into  dream 
land,  were  that  rt  would  have  been  a  useless  pain,  both 
endured,  if  now  fchey  were  to  be  lost;  the  pain  of  de 
termining,  as  they  had,  to  live  apart.  As  she  so 
thought  she  wished  almost  that  they  had  not  resolved 
as  they  had.  Conscience  and  desire  were  in  their 
ceaseless  warfare.  Then  sleeping  brought  a  dream  of 
joy,  the  blessing  that  comes  often  to  the  heart  that  is 
clean.  The  dream  was  colored  by  events  preceding. 

Cornelius  had  reminded  her  the  day  before,  as  they 
were  sailing  along  the  coast  of  Cyprus,  that,  at 
Paphos,  on  that  island,  there  was  once  a  temple  to 
Venus,  the  fabled  goddess  of  love.  That  divinity,  sur 
rounded  by  multitudes  paying  her  homage,  came  be 
fore  the  dreamer's  mind  in  all  those  ravishing  splen- 
dors  of  person  that  are  so  attractive  to  human  desires. 
Around  the  goddess,  and  very  close  to  her,  were  hosts 
of  young  men  and  maidens,  their  actions  as  boisterous 
and  ecstatic  as  those  intoxicated.  Outside  of  the 
throngs  of  youths  were  others  older:  and  outside  of 


The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

these  were  others  still  ;  those  far  away  from  the  god- 
dess,  seemingly  bowed  with  years.  The  company  of 
youths  was  constantly  increased  by  new  arrivals  who 
crowded  back  those  there  before  them. 

But  there  was  a  depletion  as  well  as  augmenting  of 
the  vast,  surging  congregation  ;  for  anon,  as  if  mad, 
some  nearest  the  deity  rushed  away,  both  of  the  men 
and  the  maidens,  nor  did  those  fleeing  stop  until  they 
found  violent  deaths  by  leaping  from  cliffs  or  into  the 
sea. 

Then  the  ancients,  crowded  continually  back  by  the 
new  arrivals,  one  after  another,  with  expressions  of 
disappointment  and  disgust  on  their  features,  seemed 
to  melt  away  into  a  surrounding  forest  of  trees  that 
were  very  black  and  very  like  shadows.  The  dreamer 
in  her  dream  betook  herself  to  prayer  that  the  God  of 
mercy  might  change  what  she  saw. 

Then  she  beheld  the  Paphian  goddess  in  all  the  splen 
dor  of  her  form,  a  perfect  triumph  of  nature,  just  as 
depicted  by  bard  and  painter,  looking  out  contemptu 
ously,  pitilessly,  foward  her  former  votaries,  now  aged 
and  pushed  aside.  There  came  then  a  voice  as  if  from 
above  :  "  God  is  love." 

Immediately  on  the  face  of  the  divinity  there  was  an 
expression  as  of  terror,  and  she  began  sinking.  Be 
fore  the  mind  of  the  dreamer,  the  beautiful  creature,  and 
her  retinue  of  nude,  bold-faced  attendants,  with  all  that 
appertained  to  them  and  their  queen  went  down,  in- 
gulfed  in  a  foaming,  roaring  whirlpool.  As  they 
went  down  lightnings  from  above  shot  after  them 
And  the  dreamer  looked  aloft  to  see  from  whence  the 
voice  and  the  lightning  came.  As  she  gazed  upward 
she  saw  a  man  of  noble  form,  reverently  bowing,  as  a 


"  The  Star  of  the  Sea."  411 

son  might  bow  in  the  presence  of  a  mother  revered  and 
loved,  before  a  woman  of  noble  mien  and  beautiful  be 
yond  all  compare 

But  this  one's  beauty  had  no  similitude  to  that  of 
the  departed  deity.  As  the  maiden  gazed  she  dis 
cerned  that  the  man  was  the  one  her  heart  called 
lover,  the  woman  the  one  she  had  enshrined  as  the 
ideal  of  her  soul,  Mary.  The  twain  stood  above  her, 
on  a  plain,  apparently  of  clouds  very  bright,  rising  in 
graceful  curve  from  the  earth  and  stretching  away  in 
measureless  vistas,  filled  with  flowered  parks,  silvery 
rivers  and  stately  mountains.  Along  the  rivers,  amid 
the  flowery  plains  and  on  the  verdant  mountains,  there 
were  numerous  buildings;  but  these  latter  were  invit 
ing  ;  not  palatial,  nor  stately.  They  were  homes  sur 
rounded  by  family  groups.  And  the  dreamer  dis 
cerned  true  love  triumphant  and  fruitful.  She  lingered 
in  this  presence,  anon  longing  for  a  presentment  of  her 
self  amid  the  scenes  of  pleasure,  until  all  was  suddenly 
dissolved  by  a  mighty  lurch  of  the  ship  that  awak 
ened  her.  She  started  from  her  couch  and  all  im 
mediately  before  the  dream  came  back  to  her  mind. 

"  We're  in  a  storm  on  the  Mediterranean,  and  the  cap 
tain  is  anxious  !  "  Her  nerves  were  now  unstrung  ;  3 
woman's  timorousness  was  upon  her.  She  could  hear 
confused  noises  aloft,  but  no  voices.  For  a  moment 
she  questioned:  "What  if  all  but  myself  have  been 
swept  away?"  Then  she  thought  of  herself  as  drift 
ing  about  in  a  ship,  sailless,  helmless,  alone!  The 
thought  was  suffocating.  The  noises  aloft  continued, 
and  she  gave  strained  attention  to  catch  the  sound  of 
a  voice.  There  was  nothing  to  be  heard  but  the  creak 
ing  of  timbers,  the  dashing  of  waves,  the  shrieking  of 


412  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

winds  and  vague  thumpings,  as  if  parts  of  the  vessei 
were  beating  each  other  to  pieces. 

"  I'll  not  lie  still  in  this  coffin  !  "  she  exclaimed,  and 
with  a  bound  she  made  her  way  to  the  deck.  As  she 
arrived  there  she  thought  she  saw  dark  forms,  some 
crouching  as  if  for  shelter,  and  others  as  if  engaged  in 
a  great  struggle.  Were  these  demons,  or  the  crew  in 
a  struggle  for  life?  She  could  not  say.  Then  there 
came  a  cry  from  the  direction  of  the  forward  part  of 
the  ship  ;  she  thought  it  was  her  father's  voice,  but  it 
was  very  hoarse  and  scarcely  recognizable. 

She  listened  again  to  the  cry  :  "  Ho,  ho  ;  ye  Olympian 
demons  !  tear  up  the  sea,  charge  now!  Ha,  ha  ;  have 
at  us !  "  The  cry  thrilled  her.  Again  the  wild  voice 
rose  above  the  storm  : 

"  Bury  her,  my  darling,  if  ye  dare  !  What  matter! 
her  white  soul  has  eternal  wings  ! " 

She  was  certain  it  was  her  father.  She  longed  to 
rush  to  his  side,  but  she  doubted  whether  she  could 
find  him  in  the  darkness;  then,  too,  even  in  the  terrors 
of  the  moment,  her  maiden  modesty  asserted  itself. 
She  remembered  that  she  was  but  partly  clad. 

Again  came  that  voice,  wilder  than  before:  "Ye  bil 
lows,  dare  ye  smite  a  knight  in  the  face  ?  I'll  meet  your 
challenge,  and  single-handed,  in  your  midst,  fight !  " 

Miriamne's  heart  was  almost  paralyzed  by  the 
thought,  "  Theboisterousness  has  overcome  my  father. 
He's  contemplating  leaping  into  the  sea  !  " 

Just  then  a  vivid  flash  of  lightning  made  every  thing 
visible.  It  seemed  to  cut  under  the  clouds,  which, 
rain-charged,  were  running  near  the  billow  crests,  and 
at  the  same  time  enswathed  the  ship  from  the  mast 
tips  to  the  partially  exposed  keel,  in  flame. 


"  The  Star  of  the  Sea"'  413 

The  maiden  saw  by  that  flash  her  father  standing  on 
the  head-rail,  one  hand  clinging  to  a  stay  rope,  the 
other  with  clinched  fist,  as  if  menacing  the  boiling 
waters  that  leaped  away  from  the  plunging  prow.  His 
face  was  livid,  his  hair  wind-tossed,  his  eyes  glaring. 
With  a  scream  she  bounded  toward  him  ;  her  scream 
and  appearance  terrifying  the  sailors.  It  was  so  un 
expected  and  they  had  forgotten  the  presence  of  a 
woman  o;i  board.  They  only  saw  a  white  form,  with 
disheveled  hair  and  with  a  motion  light  and  swift  as  a 
creature  on  wings,  passing  from  companion-way  for 
ward. 

But  the  fright  was  but  momentary.  Cornelius,  who 
had  been  vainly  endeavoring  to  calm  the  knight,  knew 
the  form,  and  loud  enough  to  be  heard  by  all  cried  : 

"  Miriamne  de  Griffin  !  " 

He  was  by  her  side  in  an  instant. 

The  young  woman  uttered  pleadingly  one  sentence, 
but  it  thrilled  all  who  heard  it : 

"  My  father  !  " 

Cornelius  exultingly  answered: 

"  Saved  !  See,  the  captain  holds  him  and  has  sum 
moned  the  watch!"  Then  he  could  do  no  less,  for 
getting  as  he  did  in  the  present  surprise,  all  eld  re 
solves,  so  he  drew  the  trembling  form  to  his  heart  as 
closely  as  he  could.  She  drew  back  a  little,  but  he 
whispered,  "  Miriamne."  What  else  he  might  have 
said  was  lost,  for  she  fluttered  a  little,  then  rested,  but 
on  the  bosom  of  her  companion. 

She  was  a  woman  in  peril,  in  fright,  storm-drenched, 
and  in  love.  What  otherwise  or  less  could  she  have 
done  than  nestle  in  the  shelter  that  gave  love  for  love 
and  promised  her  all  else  ? 


414  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  Are  you  not  alarmed,  Cornelius  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  How  strange  !  You  have  changed  places  with  me. 
In  the  evening  you  trembled  when  I  left  you,  and  I 
thought  I  was  very  brave.  Now  I  tremble  ;  do  you  not  ?" 

"  I  cowered  a  while  ago  from  the  cross  you  presented 
me  ;  it  seemed  to  bring  a  lingering  death." 

Just  then  the  ship's  prow  plunged  under  a  mountain 
ous  billow.  Miriamne  clung  to  her  support  and  fear 
fully  questioned  : 

"  Shall  we  be  overwhelmed  ?  " 

"  No  ;  I've  a  token." 

"  From  the  captain  ?  " 

"Not  from  the  one  who  guides  this  ship  alone." 

A  flash  of  lightning  revealed  the  lover's  face  to  Miri 
amne.  She  saw  his  eyes  turned  devoutly  upward,  and 
she  understood  his  meaning.  They  had  withdrawn  to 
a  shelter  by  the  vessel's  side  meanwhile.  Presently 
the  young  missioner  spoke  again  ; 

"  Our  Heavenly  Father  keeps  vigil,  I  think,  some- 
times  with  especial  care  over  this  highway  between  the 
outer  world  and  the  desolate  habitations  of  His  chosen 
people." 

"  Hark,  the  sailors  are  singing!  How  strange  it  is 
to  sing  in  such  perils,"  spoke  the  maiden. 

"  They're  as  happy  now  as  the  wave-walking  petrels. 
The  Levant  has  done  its  worst;  they  know  this  by 
the  coming  of  the  rain,  hence  they  sing  their  'Light 
ning  Song.'  ' 

"  Lightning  song?  "  queried  the  maiden. 

"  Listen  !  How  they  explode  their  vocalized  breaths 
in  hissings,  whizzings,  followed  by  the  prolonged  crash 
made  by  stamping  feet  and  clapping  hands  at  the  end 


"  The  Star  of  the  Sea."  415 

of  every  stanza.  That  chorus  is  meant  to  imitate 
those  heralds  of  the  thunder,  the  flashing  lightnings." 

"  But  it  seems  presumptuous  to  me.  The  lightning 
is  so  dreadful  !  " 

"  Not  that  which  comes  as  'a  funeral  torch  to  Euroc- 
lydon,'  as  the  sailors  say.  Some  of  them  call  it  '  the 
winking  and  blinking  of  St.  Elmo  going  to  sleep.'  " 

"  Oh,  Cornelius,  the  storm  is  breaking  !  I  see  a  star ; 
yes  two !  "  rapturously  cried  the  maiden. 

"Truly,  yes;  'Castor  and  Pollux,' the  'Twins,'  the 
'  Sailor's  Delight ! '  They  say  these  stars  are  storm 
rulers  and  friends  of  the  mariner.  Now  hear  how  they 
shout  their  song!  They  see  the  stars  !  " 

Above  the  subsiding  wind  and  waves,  rose  the  words 
of  the  singers  : 

"Now  to  our  harbor  safe  going; 

Riding  the  billows,  pushed  by  the  gale : 
The  torch  of  the  Twins  bright  glowing — 
Tipping  our  mast  and  gilding  each  sail." 

"And  do  these  stars  assure,  Cornelius?" 

"  I  saw  a  star  no  cloud  can  ever  hide,  through  the 
darkest  part  of  the  storm." 

"  A  star?" 

"  Yes,  '  Mary,  Star  of  Sea.'  " 

"  I  do  not  comprehend  you." 

"  God's  love  !  He  that  guided  the  maiden  orphan 
of  Bethlehem  through  the  besetments  of  her  life,  amid 
the  tempests  of  Jewry  and  Rome,  purely,  safely,  glori 
ously,  to  the  end  ;  while  many  of  noble  birth  and  hav 
ing  every  earthly  good  went  down  to  ruin,  walks  ever 
on  the  wave  where  faith  voyages." 

"  And  you  thought  of  the  Holy  Mother  in  the 
storm  (  " 


41 6  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

''Yes,  this  Adriatic  is  full  of  angels,  that  come  in 
thoughts,  or  before  the  eyes  !  You  remember  Paul, 
tempest  tossed  a  day  and  a  night  on  this  sea,  was  found 
by  the  Divine  Messenger  that  night  when  the  darkness 
was  thickest  ?  " 

"And  this  'Star  of  the  Sea?'" 

"  It  tells  me  mother-love  was  carried  by  a  dying 
Savior  into  the  heart  of  the  Triune,  Eternal  God,  and 
we  are  His  children,  and  He  became  Father  and  Mother 
to  us.  You  have  seen  the  hen  gather  her  chickens,  as 
human  mother  shelters  with  her  arm  or  apron  her  child 
in  pain  or  peril?  " 

"  How  touching !  Think  you  He  felt  for  us  like  ten 
derness  in  the  height  of  the  storm?" 

"  He  sought  in  His  plenteous  wisdom  mother  love 
to  sustain  Himself,  during  the  pain  and  perils  of  His 
incarnation,  and  will  ever  surely  grant  a  love  and  care 
to  His  own  beloved  ones  in  suffering  or  danger  as  ten 
der  as  that  He  sought  and  needed  for  Himself." 

"Surely  this  is  a  grateful,  natural  reasoning;  but  do 
you  believe  Mary  presides  over  the  sailor  especially?" 

"  It  is  enough  for  me  to  know  that  the  Father 
through  Mary  exemplified  His  motheriiness." 

"I'll  never  more  call  yon  bright  luminaries  Castor 
and  Pollux,  but  rather  Jesus  and  Mary,  the  guides  and 
the  defenders !  "  And  for  a  long  time  they  gazed  at  the 
double  stars,  the  storm  slowly  abating.  Once  the  youth, 
drawing  the  maiden  closely  to  himself,  questioned: 

"  Can  not  we  call  the  stars  in  conjunction,  '  Cornelius 
and  Miriamne '?  " 

They  had  been  watching,  in  sweet  converse,  there,  a 
long  time ;  there  were  faint  traces  of  dawn  in  the  east, 
and  Miriamne  had  just  been  thinking,  "  Palestine  re- 


"  The  Star  of  the  Sea"  417 

ceives  us  with  illumination  ;  "  then  she  bethought  her- 
self  that  she  and  the  man  with  her  were  going  hither 
to  proclaim  the  Gospel  of  eternal  light.  The  question 
of  her  lover  recalled  the  converse  of  the  day  before. 
That  seemed  fact,  unchanged  ;  all  occurring  since, 
dream.  She  arose,  pointed  eastward,  and  firmly  said: 
"  There  lies  our  work,  our  all.  May  a  glorious  day 
inhalo  all  God's  chosen  country  ere  long.  Cornelius, 
yesterday  we  promised  solemnly  that  we  dare  not  turn 
from  now  ;  especially  after  our  wonderful  deliverance  !  'v 
She  glided  away  to  her  cabin,  leaving  the  man  alone- 
to  contemplate  the  poor  comfort  of  being  praised  as  a 
martyr,  on  a  cross  of  self-sacrifice  ;  the  pains  of  which,, 
if  not  as  awful  as  those  of  Calvary,  were  destined  to. 
be  more  prolonged.  His  face  was  as  if  sprinkled  with 
white  ashes  ;  it  was  so  pale,  so  blank.  After  the  tempest 
they  spoke  very  little  with  each  other.  Miriamne 
waved  away  any  attempt  at  re-opening  the  subject,  with 
a  motion  of  the  finger  to  the  lips,  signaling  silence,  and 
a  glance  all  tenderness,  but  full  of  pitiful  pleadings  to 
be  spared.  The  young  man  but  once  or  twice  essayed 
the  discussion,  fearing  on  the  one  hand  to  trust  himself 
to  speak,  and  on  the  other  hand  feeling  that  any  effort 
to  change  his  fate  would  be  hopeless.  But  he  and  she 
were  full  of  inner  conflicts.  Then  their  pathways 
seemed  stony,  brier-tangled.  They  had  both  elected, 
for  Guide  and  Ideal,  Jesus  and  Mary  ;  they  were  both 
going  toward  the  cross  in  a  noble  consecration  of  their 
lives.  But  they  denied  themselves  that  that  sustained 
Jesus,  home  love,  such  as  he  found  at  Bethany  ;  conju 
gal  love,  such  as  sustained  Mary,  the  wife  and  the 
mother,  as  well  as  the  disciple.  They  had  as  their  loft 
iest  ambition  the  purpose  of  making  the  world  happier 


4 1 8  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

and  better,  and  began  by  making  misery  for  themselves. 
They  had  read  that  a  star  led  the  wise  men  of  the 
East  to  Christ  in  a  cradle,  the  light  of  the  Gospel 
rising  first  in  a  little  home  circle.  They  looked  at  the 
double  stars  above  them  after  the  storm  that  night 
almost  until  dawn,  and  then  turned  away  to  go,  each 
into  the  dark  like  a  lone  wandering  star.  Each  was  in 
part  the  victim  of  a  fabricated  conscience,  and  of  a  mis 
conception  of  duty, 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
TH*    JUEEN  IN  THE  VALLEY  OF  SORROWS. 

"  They  >»d  him  away  to  crucify  him." — MARK. 
u  The^e  'ollowed  him  a  great  company  of    ...    women,  who 
»Iso  bewai^d  him." — LUKE. 

*  *  *  ***** 

GABRIEL  :    "  Hail,  highly  favored  among  women  blessed  !  " 
MARY  :     This  is  my  favored  lot  ! 

My  exaltation  to  affliction  high  ! 

— MILTON. 

OR  many  days  Sir  Charleroy  and  Miriamne 
tarried  at  Acre,  the  latter  seeking  to  ban 
ish  repining  on  account  of  him  whom  she 
U  had  sent  away  at  the  behest  of  conscience, 
by  ministries  for  her  parent.  With  alacrity  she  joined 
the  tours  of  her  knightly  father,  visiting  the  scenes 
where  he  once  battled,  listening,  from  time  to  time,  with 
unaffected  delight,  to  his  recitals.  The  tides  of  fanati 
cal  conquests  had  wrought  few  changes  on  the  face  of 
the  city,  and  the  realism  of  those  days  of  siege,  of  the 
stern  compacts  made  in  the  last  hours  of  the  Crusaders, 
the  solemn  religious  services  before  the  last  battle,  the 
death  struggle  and  the  disordered  retreat,  was  com 
plete.  The  excitement  of  revived  memories  seemed 
to  lift  up  the  knight  from  the  syncope  of  ill  health. 
This  encouraged  the  maiden  to  solicit  the  reviews  and 
recitals  of  her  father.  The  night  before  their  depart 
ure  from  Acre,  as  determined,  the  knight  and  his 
daughter  stood  together  contemplating  the  sacred  pile 


420  The  Queen  of  t lie  Home  of  David. 

which  stood  in  the  moonlight  and  shadows,  mostly  in 
shadows.  The  soldier  of  fortune,  having  told  its  story 
over  and  over,  was  now  silent,  dreaming  of  the  past. 

"  Seiamct !  " 

They  both  started,  for  the  voice  was  like  one  from 
the  tomb,  none  but  themselves  being  apparent. 

"  I'm  afraid  here  ;  let's  be  going,  father,"  whispered 
Miriamne,  essaying  to  withdraw. 

Thereupon  there  glided  out  of  the  shadows  a  stately 
form  who,  drawing  near  to  the  father  and  daughter, 
spoke : 

"  Fear  not,  lady!  Knight,  they  can  not  be  foes  who 
court  kindred  memories  and  hope  of  like  colors  at  the 
same  shrine !  " 

"  Thou  speakest  with  Christian  allusions  the  '  peace  ' 
word  of  the  Turk." 

"I  wear  the  Turkish  '  sclamet'  as  I  do  this  Turkish 
harness,  a  loathed  necessity,  but  without  ;  the  peace  I 
pray  and  feel  is  the  mystic  inner  peace." 

"  As  a  Christian  ?  " 

"Yea ;  nor  do  I  fear  confession,  since  I  am  speaking 
to  those  who  abhor  the  Crescent." 

"A  pious  Jew  would  as  soon  adhere  to  Astarte  with 
her  orgies  as  to  bow  to  the  mooned-crown  she  wore." 

"Jews?  No,  not  Jews!  Such  would  not  sooner 
run  from  the  moon-mark  than  they  would  from  the 
shadows  which  fall  down  about  you  from  yon  grand 
and  awful  sign." 

The  speaker  pointed  to  the  crossed  spire  above,  as 
he  spoke. 

"  No  more  avoidance ;  we  are  brethren.  I'm  Sir 
Charleroy  de  Griffin,  Teutonic  knight." 

"  And  not  unknown.     The  story  of  thy  valor,  even 


T/ic  Queen  in  the  Valley  of  Sorrows.  421 

here,  lives  in  the  bosoms  of  true  companions.  I'm  a 
Knight  Hospitaler  of  Rhodes,  yet  fameless." 

The  two  men  came  closely  together ;  there  were  a 
Jew  secret  tests.  The  Hospitaler  said: 

"  In  hoc  signo  vi net's  !  " 

Sir  Charleroy  crossed  his  feet,  stretched  out  his 
arms  and  murmured  something  heard  only  by  his  com 
rade.  It  made  the  other's  eyes  lighten  with  pleasure. 

To  Miriamne  it  was  a  dumb  show;  but  the  tokens 
given  and  received  were  useful  to  pilgrims  in  those 
perilous  times. 

"Whither,  Sir  Charleroy?" 

"  To-morrow,  toward  Joppa." 

"So,  ho  !  By  interpretation,  The  Whtch-tower  of  Joy. 
From  thence  one  may  see  Jerusalem!  And  then?" 

"  And  then  ?  God  knows  where  !  A  useless  life,  like 
mine,  is  ever  aimless." 

"No,  no,  father!"  interrupted  the  daughter;  "not 
useless.  No  life  that  God  prolongs  is  useless." 

"True;  the  girl  is  right,  Teuton.  Aspiration  will 
cure  thee,  since  it's  the  mother  of  immortality.  I  go 
to  Joppa  also." 

"  They  say,  Hospitaler,  its  sea-side  is  full  wild  ;  its 
reefs  like  barking  Scylla  and  Charybdis  ?  I  hope  it 
may  be  so;  I'd  like  a  terrible  uproar." 

"  The  sea  is  the  emblem  of  change ;  from  calm  to 
weary  moan,  to  howling  terrors  and  back  again." 

"  But  the  people?  They  say  Joppa's  outside  is  fine, 
naturally,  though,  within,  the  life  of  its  people  is  mean, 
colorless  ;  a  charnel-house  whose  activity  is  that  of 
grave  worms!"  And  Sir  Charleroy  shuddered  with 
disgust  at  his  own  figure. 

•'  I   think   the   legend   of  Andromeda,  said   to   have 


422  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

been  chained  to  Joppa's  sea-crags  for  a  season,  to  be 
persccuter1  ;y  a  serpent,  then  freed,  prophetic.  Joppa 
may  have  -  future." 

"How?" 

"  Oh,  the  chained  maiden  was  boasted  by  her  fond 
mother  as  more  beautiful  than  Neptune's  Nereids, 
hence  the  persecution.  Crescent  faiths  have  been  the 
persecutors  of  Joppa  and  all  the  other  beautiful 
Andromedas  of  this  land." 

"And  the  chains  arc  riveted?" 

"  No,  not  certainly.  There  was,  in  the  myth,  a  Per 
seus  of  winged  feet,  having  a  helmet  that  made  in 
visible  and  a  sickle  from  Minerva,  goddess  of  wisdom; 
he  slew  the  serpent,  then  wed  the  victim." 

"Now  the  key,  further." 

"When  wrongs  overwhelm  all,  women  suffer  most; 
but  time  brings  their  deliverance." 

"The  myths  are  as  full  of  women  as  the  women 
full  of  myths  !  "  exclaimed  Sir  Charleroy. 

"But  Andromeda,  the  woman,  was  blameless!" 

"Yet  it's  strange  that  in  all  men's  fightings,  as  in 
their  religions,  constantly  the  woman  appears,"  replies 
Sir  Charleroy. 

"  I'd  have  thee  think,  knight,  of  the  legend  ;  it  tells 
how  men,  in  those  dark  times,  tied  their  faith  to  the 
sure  conviction  that  right  would  triumph,  wrong  be 
slain,  and  the  martyrs  at  last  go  up  among  the  stars. 
See  how  they  placed  their  Andromeda  in  the  constella 
tion  now  above  us.  Perseus  was  a  Christian,  or  rather 
a  Christian  was  a  Perseus." 

"  Now,  thou  art  merry  !  " 

"  No;  I  mean  St.  Peter;  he  was  a  Perseus.  Hearken 
to  the  word  : 


The  Queen  in  the  Valley  of  Sorrows.  423 

"  '  Now  there  was  at  Joppa  a  certain  disciple  named 
Tabitha :  this  woman  was  full  of  good  works  and 
alms-deeds. 

'•  '  And  it  came  to  pass  that  she  died. 

"'The  disciples  sent  unto  Peter  two  men,  desiring 
him  that  he  would  not  delay  to  come  to  them. 

"  '  When  he  was  come,  they  brought  him  into  the 
upper  chamber :  and  all  the  widows  stood  by  him 
weeping,  and  showing  the  coats  and  garments  which 
she  made,  while  she  was  with  them. 

"  '  But  Peter  put  them  all  forth,  and  kneeled  down, 
and  prayed  ;  and  turning  him  to  the  body,  said,  Tab 
itha,  arise.  And  she  opened  her  eyes  :  and  when  she 
saw  Peter,  she  sat  up. 

"  '  And  he  gave  her  his  hand,  and  lifted  her  up  ;  and 
when  he  had  called  the  saints  and  widows,  he  presented 
her  alive. 

"  'And  it  was  known  throughout  all  Joppa;  and  many 
believed  in  the  Lord.'  ' 

"  Why,  Hospitaler,  thou  hast  a  memory  like  an  ele 
phant  or  an  emperor  and  a  tongue  like  a  sacrist !  " 

"  Well,  the  time  for  swords  being  past  I  have  taken 
to  books ;  their  leaves  are  wings.  The  world  will  be 
conquered  yet  by  the  words  of  the  Swordless  King." 

"And  thou  wouldst  liken  Tabitha  to  Andromeda?" 

"Wasn't  she  a  real  beauty,  as  her  name  is  inter 
preted?  Beautiful  old  soul!  She  robed  the  poor! 
Peter  bringing  her  to  the  truth  of  the  new  life  smote 
the  dragon  at  Joppa,  as  a  very  Perseus." 

"  A  woman !  a  woman,  again  leading  the  army  of 
salvation  !  " 

"  After  that  Peter  slept  on  the  house  top  of  Simon 
the  Tanner,  and  God  gave  him  the  vision  of  Jew  and 


424  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

Gentile,  bond  and  free,  rich  and  poor;  all,  as  one  fam 
ily  coming  into  the  benign  rays  of  the  Sun  whose  wings 
are  full  of  healing." 

"And  will  that  day  come,  Sir  Hospitaler?  I'm  feel 
ing  almost  a  frenzy  of  desire  for  it !  " 

"  Surely  as  the  morning  to  Acre  ;  but  we  must  hie 
homeward  ;  good-night ;  I'll  see  you  at  the  quay 
to-morrow." 

From  Acre,  Miriamne  and  her  father,  next  day,  set 
sail.  The  companions  on  the  journey  from  Acre 
by  Joppa  arrived  at  Jerusalem,  there  to  separate 
soon,  for  Miriamne,  with  every  ingenious  device, 
urged  her  father  forward.  Bozrah  was  constantly 
uppermost  in  her  mind. 

"We  part,  Sir  Charleroy,  to-morrow?"  said  the 
Hospitaler. 

"  If  thou  dost  elect  to  stay  in  sad  Jerusalem,  surely. 

"  Yes ;  I'd  go  mad  here  from  doing  nothing  but 
wrestling  with  my  thoughts.  In  fact,  I  guess  I'd  go 
mad  anywhere,  if  long  there.  I  think,  sometimes, 
that  my  mind's  in  a  whirlpool,  moving  not  like 
others ;  yet,  round  and  round  in  some  consistency, 
carrying  its  befooling  creeds,  hopes,  dreams,  visions, 
phantasmagoria  in  a  pretty  fair  march.  I'm  sure,  more 
than  sure,  that  if  I  once  stopped  moving,  my  brain 
would  rest  like  a  house  after  a  land-slide,  tilted  over, 
while  all  the  things  in  the  whirlpool  would  drift  about 
in  hopeless  confusion." 

"Thou  dost  talk  like  a  physician,  gone  mad  with 
philosophy  !  " 

"No  doubt  of  it ;  that's  all  because  I've  been  idling 
here  a  month  ;  a  week  longer  and  God  knows  who 
could  set  me  going  again,  rightly." 


The  Queen  in  the  Valley  of  Sorroivt..  425 

Then  the  knight  laughed  merrily ;  very  merrily,  in 
fact,  for  a  man  who  had  trained  himself  to  morbidness. 
The  Hospitaler  replied  : 

"  I  see  nothing  for  me  beyond  the  Holy  City  and  its 
historic  surrounds.  I'm  training  myself  to  proclaim 
God's  kingdom  and  must  begin  at  that  pre-eminent, 
world  over-looking  point,  Jerusalem." 

"But  there  are  no  schools  to  fit  one  there?" 

"The  most  informing  and  man-expanding  on  earth  ; 
the  deathless  examples  of  the  worthies ;  best  studied 
where  they  lived  their  mightful  living.  I  go  now  to 
Golgotha." 

"  Golgotha  ?  <  The  Place  of  the  Skull  ?  '  " 

"  Even  so,  sometimes  called  the  Valley  of  Jehosa- 
phat." 

Sir  Charleroy  rubbed  his  head  as  one  well  puzzled, 
and  was  silent. 

"  Oh,  knight,  thou  hast  forgotten  the  goings  forward 
of  Ezekiel's  mind,  prophetically.  It  was  in  Kidron, 
the  Golgotha  Valley,  that  he  had  the  vision  of  the  dry 
bones.  Let  me  read  : 

"  '  Behold,  there  were  very  many  bones  in  the  open 
valley  ;  and,  lo,  they  were  very  dry. 

"  '  And  He  said  unto  me,  Son  of  man,  can  these  bones 
live?  And  I  answered,  O  Lord  GOD,  thou  knowest. 

"  '  Again  He  said  unto  me,  Prophesy  ; 

" '  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  unto  these  bones  ;  Behold, 
I  will  cause  breath  to  enter  into  you,  and  ye  shall  live  : 

" '  As  I  prophesied,  there  was  a  noise,  and  behold  a 
shaking,  and  the  bones  came  together,  bone  to  his 
bone. 

"  '  The  sinews  and  the  flesh  came  up  upon  them,  and 
the  skin  covered  them. 


426  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  '  Then  said  he  unto  me,  say  to  the  wind,  Thus  saith 
the  Lord  God  ;  come  from  the  four  winds,  O  breath, 
and  breathe  upon  these  slain,  that  they  may  live. 

"'So  I  prophesied  as  he  commanded  me,  and  the 
breath  came  into  them,  and  they  lived,  and  stood  up 
upon  their  feet,  an  exceeding  great  army.'  " 

"  And  now,  soldier,  turned  exegete,  tell  me  what 
thou  dost  make  of  the  strange  phantasm?" 

"  That  God  will  work  in  this  wrorld  a  marvelous 
transformation  ;  those  living-dead,  all  around  us  and 
beyond,  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  shall  stand  in  new 
life.  The  scene  is  laid  to  be  in  this  Kidron  valley,  to 
bring  all  minds  to  the  '  Light  of  the  World,'  who 
passed  in  painful  triumph  along  it,  even  unto  Calvary." 

"  But  this  may  not  be  so,  yet  it  so  seems  ?  " 

"  Hearken  again   to  the  prophet's  happy  ending: 

"  '  Moreover  I  will  make  a  covenant  of  peace  with 
them  ;  it  shall  be  an  everlasting  covenant  with  them  : 
and  I  will  place  them,  and  multiply  them,  and  will  set 
my  sanctuary  in  the  midst  of  them  for  evermore. 

"  '  My  tabernacle  also  shall  be  with  them  :  yea,  I  will 
be  their  God,  and  they  shall  be  my  people.' 

"  All  this,"  continued  the  Hospitaler,  "  is  what  is  to 
come,  is  coming.  The  dawn  of  this  day  began  when 
Jesus  passed  over  Kidron  !  " 

"  And  yet,  Rhodes,  I'm  doubtful.  Do  not  the  cor 
respondences  remote,  mislead  thee  ?  " 

"  If  a  crusade  leader  sent  a  summons  like  this 
wouldst  thou  respond,  trusting?  '  Blow  ye  the  trumpet 
in  Zion,  and  sound  an  alarm  in  my  holy  mountain  : 
let  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land  tremble:  for  the  day 
of  the  LORD  cometh,  for  it  is  nigh  at  hand  ? ' ' 

"  The  Hospitaler  knows  I  would." 


The  Queen  in  the  Valley  of  Sorrows.  427 

"  Well ;  God  by  His  Prophet-Herald,  Joel,  so  alarms 
the  nations.  And  more,  we  have  a  broader  summons," 
and  the  preacher  soldier  read  again  : 

"'  Multitudes,  multitudes  in  the  valley  of  decision: 
for  the  day  of  the  Lord  is  near  in  the  valley  of  de 
cision. 

"  '  Let  the  heathen  be  wakened,  and  come  up  to  the 
valley  of  Jehosaphat :  for  there  will  I  sit  to  judge  all 
the  heathen  round  about. 

"  '  Put  ye  in  the  sickle,  for  the  harvest  is  ripe. 

" '  The  sun  and  the  moon  shall  be  darkened,  and  the 
stars  shall  withdraw  their  shining. 

"  '  The  Lord  also  shall  roar  out  of  Zion,  and  utter  His 
voice  from  Jerusalem  ;  and  the  heavens  and  the  earth 
shall  shake :  but  the  Lord  will  be  the  hope  of  His  peo. 
pie,  and  the  strength  of  the  children  of  Israel. 

"'So  shall  ye  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  your  God 
dwelling  in  Zion,  my  holy  mountain. 

"  '  Beat  your  plowshares  into  swords,  and  your 
pruninghooks  into  spears :  let  the  weak  say,  I  am 
strong.' ' 

Then  the  Hospitaler  closed  his  eyes,  turned  his  face 
upward  as  in  prayer,  and  began  speaking  like  unto  one 
in  a  rapture  or  trance  : 

"  When  souls  would  measure  themselves  for  judg 
ment,  they  must  stand  by  the  scenes  wrought  out  by 
Him  that  died  for  men  ;  just  hereabouts,  when  the 
last  judgment  comes,  the  multitudes  of  earth,  tried  by 
the  measure  of  the  God-man,  will  be  brought  face  to 
face  with  God's  standard  of  moral  grandeur,  sublimely 
once  displayed  here.  Before  its  splendor  the  stars, 
the  finest  of  men,  shall  wax  dim  ;  human  philosophy, 
the  sun  of  the  world,  go  out,  and  human  religion,  ever 


428 

the  child  of  human  desire,  shall  fade  as  the  setting^ 
waning  moon,  that  emblem  of  the  concupiscent.  Then 
Charity,  that  never  fails,  shall  come  to  her  throne,  the 
last  implement  of  war  be  beaten  into  services  of  love, 
while  the  weak,  no  more  dominated  by  giant  brutality, 
shall  rise  to  the  pre-eminence  of  moral  strength.  Adam 
and  Eve,  the  fallen  pair,  passed  through  the  valley  of 
sorrow  and  sin,  downward  ;  Christ  and  Madonna,  the 
new  ideals,  passed  through  the  valley  of  sorrow  and 
salvation,  upward." 

"  Oh,  Rhodes,  the  whirl  of  my  brain  is  as  if  touched 
by  the  swellings  of  an  anthem.  I'll  come  right  yet, 
if  thou  dost  enravish  me  so!"  cried  Sir  Charleroy. 

And  Miriamne's  face  shone  as  if  the  sun  were  on  it, 
but  it  was  not.  She  was  looking  away,  in  soul,  to  the 
future.  The  Hospitaler  continued  : 

"  Truly,  all  heads,  as  well  as  hearts,  are  righted  here, 
where  the  touch  of  the  Cross  makes  the  dry  bones 
live.  Here  get  I  my  schooling ;  this  place  of  the 
Cross,  where  the  depths  of  sin,  the  heights  of  love,  are 
manifest ;  from  which  radiates  all  holiest  tenets,  to 
which  and  from  which  flow  the  streams  of  Scriptural 
truth.  If  only  we  could  get  all  men  to  stand  sincerely 
on  this  lofty  hill  of  vision,  overlooking  all  times  to 
come,  all  histories  past,  all  mysteries  would  be  ex 
plained',  all  prophecies  become  clear,  and  there  never 
would  be  need  on  earth  again  for  wars  of  faith  or  the 
burning  of  heretics.  Pilate  spake  welcome  words  to 
the  ages  when  he  cried  :  '  Miles,  cxpcdi  Crnccm ' — '  Sol 
diers,  speed  the  Cross.'  Its  speed  is  light's  speed." 

As  they  conversed,  the  three  had  slowly  journeyed 
along  the  Via  Dolorosa — the  road  to  the  Cross. 

"Here,"  said  the   Hospitaler,   "it   is  reported  that 


The  Queen  in  the  Valley  of  Sorrows.  429 

Jesus  yearn:n  ;!y  looking  back  to  the  weeping  women 
that  followed  him  Cross-ward,  cried :  'Daughters  of 
Jerusalem,  weep  not  for  me,  but  weep  for  yourselves  and 
children'  ' 

"The  woman  again  in  religion!"  exclaimed  Sir 
Charleroy. 

"  Imman.uel  spoke  to  the  world,  then.  When  truth 
goes  to  crucifixion,  women  and  children — the  weaker — • 
may  well  weep.  It's  the  Giant's  hour.  So  children 
and  women  ever  have  been  the  chief  followers  of 
Jesus.  No  wonder  that  children  brought  palms  of 
peace  to  Him  and  shouted  His  praises,  while  women 
annointed  Him  with  tears.  They  knew,  by  an  holy  in 
tuition,  that  somehow  He  was  the  King  of  Love,  the 
defender  of  weakness." 

"  I  begin  to  think,  Sir  Knight  Hospitaler,  that  the 
sun  of  this  country  has  wrapped  its  gold  about  thy 
brain." 

"  Oh,  father,  don't  prevent ;  these  words  of  his  are 
balm  to  my  soul,"  quoth  Minamne. 

"Speak  on,  for  the  girl's  sake,  knight.  Speak  on; 
I'll  be  silent." 

The  Hospitaler  continued  : 

"Daughter,  thou  dost  follow  the  story  as  those  holy 
women  followed  Jesus,  afar  off ;  but  with  tenderness. 
As  they  found  later  unutterable  nearness,  so  shalt 
thou  ;  God  willing." 

"  The  woman  in  religion  !  It's  so.  I,  a  man  ;  this 
Minamne,  a  woman,  a  girl,  my  daughter.  I'm  like  a 
pupil  to  her,  yet  I  professed  this  cross-faith  more  than 
a  score  of  years  before  she  was  born.  I'd  need  a  mil 
lennium  to  overtake  her,  in  glory,  if  we  both  died  now. 
I'm  like  poor  old  David,  who  fled  from  his  rebellious 


430  Tlie  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

son,  Absalom,  over  the  hills  that  skirt  Kidron.     I'm 
dethroned." 

"  Remember,  rather,  that  He  who  glorified  Kidron 
was  '  obedient  unto  death.'  Mother  and  son,  together 
all  loving,  all  loyal  in  that  dread  hour,  here  attested 
that  in  David's  kingdom,  at  the  last,  at  its  best,  there 
will  be  no  trampling  on  the  family  ties,  Sir  Charleroy." 

"  Wonderful !  I  never  thought  of  this  before,  after 
this  manner.  But  still,  the  woman  leads  the  world 
in  religion !  " 

"  The  woman  !  Yes,  but  only  when  she  takes  her 
place,  as  did  Mary,  as  a  follower  of  Jesus  to  Calvary." 

"  But  how,  now,  about  Astarte,  Diana,  Baaltis  ?  " 

"  They  had  their  day;  rude,  gross  phantoms;  con 
ceived  in  the  hot  souls  of  low  and  lecherous  men  ;  but  I 
told  thee,  here  we  might  overlook  the  world.  In  this 
valley  Athaliah,  daughter  of  cruel  Jezebel,  Queen  of 
Ahab,  and,  like  her  mother,  an  Astarte-socialist,  wor 
shiped  the  lewd  ideal,  Baaltis.  Death,  in  shocking 
form,  took  off  that  heathen  queen  of  Israel.  God's 
revenge,  this  was. 

"And  now,  I  remember  that  the  queen  mother  of  Asa, 
here,  in  Kidron,  set  up  the  worship  of  Ashera  with  its 
Phallic  mysteries;  but  Asa,  the  youth,  pure  of  mind 
and  led  of  God,  not  only  tore  down,  root  and  branch 
the  groves  and  woven  booths  of  licentiousness,  but  de 
throned  the  woman  who  had  set  them  up.  Just  here, 
in  finest  contrasts,  I  remember  the  Virgin  Mary  the 
pure  mother,  the  ideal  woman,  who,  in  this  valley  of 
decision,  rose  for  all  time  the  exemplification  of  truest 
womanhood — a  wife,  a  mother.  Mary  has  broken  for 
ever  the  idols  of  Baaltis.  While  Mary's  memory  lasts, 
part  of  the  enduring,  sacred  history,  toward  which  all 


The  Queen  in  the  Valley  of  Sorrows.  43 1 

Christian  eyes  turn,  Astarte  can  never  rise  under  any 
name  or  form  for  long  toleration.  She  is  forever  brok 
en,  and  her  creed  of  lust  fated  to  reprobation. 

"  Wherever  this  gospel  story,  eternal  and  eternally 
new,  is  told,  there  will  come  to  the  minds  of  the  hearers  a 
vision  of  those  associated  in  the  last  dread  hours  of  the 
Divine  Martyr,  in  a  fellowship  of  sympathy  and  sor 
row.  Among  these  will  stand  pre-eminent  the  women. 
Simon,  the  Cyrenian,  compelled  by  the  soldiers,  aided 
the  trembling  sorrow-burdened  Christ  to  bear  the 
cross.  And  it  is  easy  to  believe  that  the  wife  of  that 
Simon,  who  appears  later,  for  a  moment,  in  the  praiseful 
salutations  of  Paul,  as  the  parent  of  Christian  sons, 
she  reverently  called  by  the  great  apostle  mother,  was 
among  the  women  that  were  most  sorrowful  and  nearest 
the  dying  Saviour.  Then  there  were  Mary,  the  mother  of 
James,  Salome,  Mary  Magdalene,  and  possibly  Claudia 
the  wife  of  Pilate — that  brave  woman  who  advocated 
Christ's  cause  before  the  proud,  implacable  Sanhedrim, 
the  howling  mob  and  Imperial  Rome's  representatives. 
What  fitting  mourners  in  that  touching,  yet  august 
funeral  march  ! 

"  Women  are  fully  capable  by  nature,  through  their 
finest,  tenderest  chords,  ever  responsive  in  woe,  to  ex 
press  the  whole  of  grief,  however  deep !  The  sex 
which  loves  most,  loves  longest,  mourns  most  easily  as 
well  as  most  sincerely,  and  has  made  sorrow  sacred  by 
the  lavish  bestowals  of  it,  whene'er  its  founts  were 
touched. 

"There  is  an  holy,  perfumed  anointing  in  their  tears. 
This  crucifixion-time  was  woman's  hour  supremely, 
Mary  with  magnificent  self-possession,  .heart-broken, 
vet  strong  in  faith  ;  weeping  in  eye  and  soul,  but  in- 


432  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

truding  no  wild  bowlings  amid  those  who  wept  for  cus 
tom's  sake;  tearful,  yet  retiring  in  her  grief,  here 
passes  before  our  minds  at  once  the  most  fascinating, 
winsome,  yet  pity-begetting  woman  known  to  man." 

"  Father,"  cried  Miriamne,  restraining  but  little  her 
own  tears  :  "  Are  you  listening?  " 

"  Yes,  yes  ;  oh,  yes.  The  glory  of  Eden's  noon  has 
fallen  on  the  tongue  and  brain  of  Rhodes,  and  yet  I 
cannot  gainsay  him  ;  nor  would  I  try  to  dispel  his  wise 
and  honored  sayings.  I  can  only  wonder  and  wonder 
how  it  is  that  woman  rises  at  the  very  front  when  any 
grand  advance  is  made." 

"  Good  Rhodes,  go  on,"  spoke  Miriamne. 

"I'm  easily  persuaded,  for  there  is  something  of  a 
savory  sweetness  to  this  grief — welcome  mother  of  true 
penitence,  that  comes  over  souls,  who,  in  imagination, 
follow  the  steps  to  the  cross.  I've  heard  that  Mary 
followed  her  son  from  the  Judgment  Hall  to  Calvary. 
He  moved  at  slow  pace,  and  well  He  might ;  worn  by 
months  of  toil  for  needy  humanity ;  by  watchings, 
teachings  and  the  like;  until  now  ready  to  drop  down 
under  the  thorn-crown,  the  scourging  and  the  cross. 
But  the  blessed  Virgin,  still  a  woman,  still  a  mother, 
faltered  by  the  way.  Sometimes  she  hid  her  eyes  from 
the  scourging,  sometimes  she  was  pushed  aside  by 
those  who  knew  her  not,  or  those  who  knowing  hated 
her  because  of  her  goodness.  Tradition  tells  us  she 
fainted  several  times  overcome  by  the  terrors  of  that 
sad  journey  through  the  valley.  She  had  small 
strength  to  witness  the  climax  of  brutality  when 
cruel  hands  drove  the  awful  nails  into  that  One  she 
loved  !  The  history  of  that  dread  hour  has  often 
wrung  tears  from  stout  hearts;  and  he  who  unde1"- 


B     Plockhorst. 


MARY     AND    ST.    JOHN. 


The  Queen  in  the  Valley  of  Sorrows.  433 

stands  in  any  degree  a  mother's  heart,  easily  believes 
that  she  was  absent  when  the  mob  raised  the  victim 
on  His  cross.  But,  mother-like,  nothing  could  keep 
her  from  the  final  parting,  which  death  brought  to 
her  and  her  son. 

"Sorrow  sharpens  the  language  of  love  to  a  deep  ex 
pressiveness  ;  when  the  end  was  approaching,  Mary  and 
John  stood  side  by  side  and  near  to  the  One,  who,  to 
them,  was  dearer  than  all.  I  have  heard,  and  I  believe 
that  a  sign  from  the  Christ  had  hurried  John  away,  just 
before  His  death,  to  bring  mother  to  the  heart  that  was 
yearning  not  more  to  give  than  to  receive,  the  comforts 
that  both  needed,  the  assurance  of  undying  affection. 
The  man  on  the  cross,  stripped  of  all  earthly  except 
His  flesh,  even  robbed  of  the  tunic  that  Mary  had 
made,  and  for  which  the  men  of  war  gambled;  as  war 
has  often  gambled  for  the  patrimony  of  the  King  of 
Men,  had  little  or  nothing  of  earth  to  give,  other  than 
His  rights  in  the  hearts  of  mother  and  John. 

These  were  His  farewell  keepsakes  to  each.  It  needs 
no  strained  imagination  to  fathom  His  heart,  for  He 
opened  it  all  in  His  dying  cry,  '  My  God,  my  God,  why 
hast  Thou  forsaken  me  ?'  This  was  not  as  the  cry  of  a 
victor,  but  that  of  a  broken  heart ;  not  as  a  strong  man, 
but  typical  humanity,  alone,  facing  death  as  a  child. 
The  language  He  used  then  was  not  that  usually  His, 
it  was  the  language  of  His  childhood.  In  every 
syllable  of  that  cry,  one  may  read,  I  fear  that  God, 
even  God,  has  forsaken  me ;  but  mother,  my  own  loved 
mother!  mother,  mother,  oh,  my  dying,  human  heart, 
leans  as  a  babe  on  thy  bosom  ! ' 

"  Here,  here!  "  cried  Sir  Charleroy.  "  Quick!  Take 
this  cross  of  a  Teutonic  Knight  of  St.  Mary ;  bury  it 


434  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

when  I'm  gone  by  her  grave  in  Gethsemane  !  I  ha/e 
praised  myself  as  her  champion,  and  son,  and  devotee. 
Heavens!  I'm  abashed  by  thy  splendid  revelation! 
I  never  have  even  dreamed  of  her  glorious  worth !  " 

4  Father,  my  father,  be  calm,  be  calm — calm  for  my 
sake ;  you  fright  me  when  you  so  give  way.  Remem 
ber,  ^ve're  at  the  place  where  a  wrong  past  ends  at  the 
right  beginning." 

"  Thou  art  my  good  angel,  Miriamne  ;  but,  oh,  it's 
twice  sad !  I've  been  a  madman  half  my  life  and  a 
player  in  a  farce  the  other  half  ! " 

"  Be  calm,  Sir  Knight,  and  look  into  the  wonders  of 
this  place.  Christ's  coming  to  earth  to  pardon  its 
errings,  right  its  wrongs,  and  hang  unfading  victory 
crowns  on  all  futures.  Listen :  There  was  night  when 
that  King  died,  and  the  dead  arose  and  went  about  the 
city,  attesting  the  eternal  fact  that  He  was  Ruler  of  all 
worlds.  And  it  was  the  Feast  of  the  New  Moon 
at  Jerusalem  ;  the  Feast  of  Venus  at  Rome  ;  of  Khem 
in  Egypt ;  but  the  crescent  was  hidden." 

"  I  see,  I  see,  Rhodes  ;  Mary  and  Mary's  son  were  to 
come  forth  ;  all  others  eclipsed  !  " 

"  It  is  attested  by  history  that  there  was  black  dark 
ness  about  the  Sun  Temple  at  Heliopolis  as  Christ  was 
bidding  His  mother  and  earth  Death's  good-night. 
The  Egyptian  city  of  Osiris,  by  miracle,  witnessed  of 
the  great  event  at  Calvary.  Some  there  were  prompted 
to  say:  '  Either  the  world  is  coming  to  an  end,  or  the 
god  of  nature  suffers.'  ' 

"And  Mary,  wise  and  erudite,  Rhodes?  Tell  us 
more  of  her." 

"'It  is  finished!'  cried  her  son,  and  she  passed 
from  the  grief  of  those  who  agonize  amid  somberc 


The  Queen  in  the  Valley  of  Sorrows.  43  5 

monster  pangs  impending,  into  that  quiet,  subdued, 
ripening  sadness  that  comes  over  those  who  have 
learned  to  say :  '  Thy  will  be  done'  At  Cana's  feast 
her  Beloved  told  her:  l  Mine  hour  has  not  yet  come.' 
Now,  she  knew  the  meaning  of  the  mystic  words,  and 
saw  His  hour,  with  all  its  mighty  imports,  at  last 
marked  in  full  ;  all  the  prophecies  gathered  as  into  a 
full-orbed  sun  ;  the  cross  rose  like  a  dial,  mountains 
high,  the  shadows  on  it  telling  eternity's  time  !  Mary, 
the  singer  of  the  ' Magnificat'  her  imagination  fired, 
her  vision  inspired,  as  she  stood  by  that  interpreting, 
ghastly  symbol,  could  see  the  course  of  the  sacred  past 
emerging  into  meaning.  Eve  leading;  the  wealth  of 
her  bloom  no  longer  sacrificed  to  primeval,  Astarte- 
like  intoxications ;  the  wings  of  the  real  tree  of  life 
above  her ;  the  serpent  crushed  beneath  her  heel. 
Then,  following,  Noah,  the  man  of  the  ark,  symbol  of 
sheltering  covenants  between  God  and  man,  covenants 
ever  circled  by  bows  of  hope,  ever  surmounted  by 
dove-like  peace.  After  these  Abraham,  with  his  typi 
cal  lamb,  followed  by  a  countless  multitude  of  priests; 
laying  down  at  the  cross,  as  they  passed,  their  temple- 
pattern,  the  symbols  of  its  service  realized  and  ellipsed  ! 
After  these,  Moses,  the  law-giver,  with  face  serene  at 
law's  fulfillment,  in  company  with  flaming  prophets 
innumerable,  all  rejoicing  in  visions  realized.  Behind 
all  followed  Captivity  and  Hades,  Christ's  grandest 
trophies,  forever  in  chains !  Teutonic  Knight  of  St. 
Mary,  thy  queen  saw  all  these,  and  as  they  passed 
there  rose  to  her  view  the  White  Kingdom  of  David. 
Now,  stand  here  where  she  stood;  surrender  mind  and 
heart  to  the  Spirit  and  Word,  then  thou  shalt  behold 
the  radiant  procession,  the  coming  glory! " 


436  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

The  Hospitaler  ceased.  Then  softly,  meanwhile 
waving  his  hand  as  if  entreating,  Sir  Charleroy  spoke : 

"  Rhodes,  wait  a  little  ;  don't  say  any  more  now. 
I  want  to  watch  that  procession.  It  seems  to  me  I 
see  it.  Oh,  wonderful,  all  wonderful  ! " 

"  He  shall  be  called  Wonderful." 

There  was  a  long,  long  pause,  broken  gently  by 
Miriamne,  who,  after  a  while,  said: 

"  We'd  better  return  to  the  city  ;  the  day  is  very  hot, 
and  I'm — "  She  could  say  no  more. 

Silently  Sir  Charleroy  complied ;  silently  all  three 
journeyed  to  their  abodes.  The  Hospitaler  was  con 
tent  with  his  effort  to  proclaim  the  truths  of  Calvary, 
and  Miriamne  was  glad  to  leave  her  father  to  the  full 
benefit  of  his  sacred,  all-engrossing  thoughts.  Mir 
iamne,  in  heart,  was  enraptured  by  her  thoughts  of 
the  mother  of  Jesus. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

TWO   DEAD   HEARTS   UNITING  TWO   LIVING  ONES 

"  Let  us  alone  regret,     .     .     . 

.     Sorrow  humanizes  our  race. 
Tears  are  the  showers  that  fertilize  the  world ; 
And  memory  of  things  precious  keepeth  warm 
The  heart  that  once  did  hold  them. 

They  are  poor  that  have  lost  nothing  ;  they  are  far  more  poor 
Who,  losing,  have  forgotten  ;  they  most  poor 
Of  all  who  lose  and  wish  they  might  forget." 

— JEAN  INGELOW. 

NDER  Miriamne's  adroit  and  patient  guid 
ance  Sir  Charleroy  and  his  attendants 
made  goodly  progress  until  they  reached 
ancient  Jabbock,  bordering  Giant  Bashan ; 
but  at  that  point  the  knight  made  a  stubborn  stand, 
persisting  that  he  would  proceed  no  further  Bozrah- 
ward. 

"  I  smell  Mohammedanism  coming  to  me  from  the 
East,  and,  having  had  enough  of  the  Saracens  in  my 

day,  I'll  tarry  away  from  their  haunts 

"  I  must  go,  beloved,  to  the  tomb  of  my  dear 
defender,  Ichabod.  I  must  go  to  Gerash  to  do  the 
pious  offices  of  a  mourner." 

The  maiden  brought  forward  every  reason  her 
ingenuity  could  invent  opposed  to  the  proposed  deflec 
tion  in  course.  She  enlisted  the  Druses  guide?,  whom 
she  had  employed  to  accompany  them  hitherto,  to  aid 


438  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

her  in  raising  objections,  and  they  magnified  the 
obstacles  in  the  way  to  Gerash  with  commendable 
loyalty  to  their  employer,  the  maiden,  if  not  with  strict 
regard  to  truth.  They  all  encamped,  and  the  debate 
was  the  sole  occupation  for  hours. 

"  Now,  Miriamne,  hitherto  my  good  spirit,  thou 
wouldst  lure  me  to  perdition!  I've  been  in  the  Lejah. 
I'm  certain  that  black  lava-sea  is  hell's  mouth,  and 
Bozrah's  its  porch  !  " 

"  So  be  it  ;  but  if  we  go  carrying  the  heavenly  con 
sciousness  of  doing  our  Father's  will,  we  may  carry 
heaven  to  those  gates." 

"  It's  not  my  duty  to  go  thither.  I  passed  through 
that  purgatory  once.  Its  horrors  blasted  my  life  !  To 
return  thither  would  be  presumption." 

"  But  you  have  forgotten  the  sunrise  coming  to  you. 
Each  day,  for  months,  as  you  have  journeyed  east 
ward,  you  have  gained  in  health  of  body  and 
mind." 

"  Dost  thou  mean  that  God  blesses  those  who 
plunge  headlong  to  destruction,  as  the  possessed  swine 
that  ran  violently  into  the  sea?" 

"  Can  not  my  father  let  faith  silence  the  disquietings 
of  his  wild  fancies?  The  memory  of  a  past  pain, 
though  a  persistent,  is  often  a  false  teacher." 

"  Oh,  I  do  remember.  Some  memories  seem  to 
scorch  the  very  substance  of  my  brain  !  I  pray  when 
such  come  that  God  give  me  eternal  forgetfulness.  I'd 
rather  be  an  idiot  than  have  the  power  of  coherent 
thinking  filled  with  such  reminiscences!" 

"  Ah,  if  we  all,  always,  had  the  wisdom,  while  gazing 
into  our  dark,  deep  pools,  to  gaze  until  we  saw  at  their 
bottoms  the  image  of  the  sky  above !  " 


Two  Dead  Hearts  Uniting  Two  Living  Ones.    439 

"  Well  said,  daughter  !  Bozrah  is  a  dark  pool !  I 
saw  there  only  an  image  of  the  sky,  and  that  very  far 
away  ! " 

The  day  of  the  foregoing  they  were  wandering  along 
the  flowery  banks  and  over  the  forest-covered  hills 
that  undulated  away  from  Jabbock's  ravine.  As  they 
moved  along  the  maiden  plucked  a  hyacinth  blossom 
and  affectionately  fastened  it  on  her  father's  bosom  ; 
just  where  he  was  wont  to  wear,  when  in  England,  his 
knight's  cross. 

"  Rizpah  once  placed  a  lotus  there  ;  it  made  me 
drunk  ;  a  votary  of  pleasure,  mad  ;  but  Miriamne,  her 
daughter,  places  there  the  flower  of  serene,  deathless 
affection  !  Sweet,  thou  art  my  good  ange1,  the  flower 
says  to  Gerash  !  " 

"  Why,  father!   I  do  not  understand  !  " 

"  Apollo  unwittingly  caused  the  death  of  a  beauti 
ful  youth,  the  friend  of  his  heart,  whose  name  was  Hya- 
cinthus.  So  says  tradition,  and  it's  so  charming,  I 
more  than  half  believe  it  !  Apollo,  in  loyal  love,  made 
a  flower  grow  from  the  grave  of  his  friend.  This  is  it  ! 
See  ;  here's  the  color  of  the  dead  youth's  blood.  This 
blossom  is  the  flower  of  deathless  friendship  and  I  love 
it." 

"A  touching  story,  I'll  remember  it;  but  it  seemi 
to  me  the  flower  says,  '  Bozrah,'  my  father." 

"  Take  this  leaf,  girl ;  here." 

"And  what  of  this?" 

"  There,  on  that  leaf,  behold  those  signs, '  Ai '  '  Ai  V 

"  I  think  some  markings  are  there  like  what  you  say, 
though  never  'till  now  did  I  so  trace  them." 

"  That's  the  Greek  cry  of  woe.  The  perfumes  of 
these  flowers,  in  every  field  of  Gerash,  remind  me  of 


The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

my  duty.  I  must  go  to  the  tomb  of  the  man  that  died 
in  my  defense." 

"  A  pious  sentiment  ;  but  duty  to  the  living  can  not 
be  pushed  aside  by  such  a  call.  You  have  other  and 
living  friends?  " 

"Yes,  thou  art  my  friend,  lover,  angel;  but  I'll  keep 
thee  with  me,  my  lamb." 

"  Rizpah  and  your  sons  !  " 

"  Rizpah  my  friend  ?  that  would  be  amusing,  if 
it  were  not  such  a  grim  sarcasm.  Oh,  what  a  miser 
able  race  she  led  me  !  " 

"  Misery,  like  joy,  in  wedded  life,  is  won  or  lost  by 
the  deed  of  two ;  not  one.  I  shall  not  acquit  my 
mother;  but  were  not  there  two  to  blame  ?  " 

"  Two  ?  no  ;  only  one.  I  could  not  be  peaceful  with 
a  panther." 

"  Be  not  too  severe,  and  think  a  little  ;  did  not  you, 
after  all,  do  much  to  make  your  wedded  wife  what  she 
was  at  her  worst  ?  " 

"  What,  I  ?     Thou  dost  not  think  that  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  I  know  the  story  of  your  espousal  ;  your 
flight  from  Gerash,  and  then  your  after  conflicts.  You 
knew  before  you  determined  against  all  opposing,  in 
the  face  of  reasons  most  grave,  and  without  any  thought 
of  your  adaptation  to  each  other,  to  wed,  that  your 
tempers,  tastes,  and  trainings  were  in  almost  every 
thing  apart." 

"Well,  we  loved  each  other  sincerely  ;  our  marriage 
vows  were  honestly  taken." 

"Marriage;  that  settled  it  forever!  Did  you  as 
honestly  keep  as  you  took  the  vows,  for  better  or 
worse  ?  " 

"  Now  that  were  impossible.     Did  you  ever  see  your 


Two  Dead  Hearts  Uniting  Two  Living  Ones.    44! 

mother  in  rage,  her  muscles  rising  in  a  sort  of  serpen 
tine  wavings  from  her  feet  upward?  Ugh!  I  hear 
her  sibilant,  hissing  words  of  scorn,  now.  They'll  haunt 
me  forever.  She  was  a  lotus  in  love,  and  a  boa  in 
wrath." 

"  I  may  have  seen  her  so,  but  out  on  the  love  that 
lets  such  visions  displace  memories  of  the  best  things  ; 
a  daughter,  nurtured  by  her,  can  not ;  a  husband  sworn 
on  hymen's  altar,  dare  not  forget." 

"  I  tried  to  set  her  right,  Miriamne." 

"  Not  always  with  kindness  unfailing.  I've  seen  the 
scourge-marks  on  her  heart.  I've  heard  her  moan  as 
a  wounded  dove  ;  no,  more  piteously,  as  a  deserted  wife 
and  mother.  You  tried  to  set  her  right  by  forcing  her 
to  your  faith,  that,  too,  when  the  girl-wife  was  weak 
and  exhausted  by  early  maternity.  You  have  been 
wont  ever  to  pity  profoundly  the  holy  mother  who  re 
coiled  fainting  from  the  spectacle  of  her  son  scourged 
to  crucifixion.  That  pity  is  a  fine  feeling;  but  since 
Mary's  day  is  passed,  it  is  finer  to  evince  a  manly  ten 
derness  for  living  women  moving  toward  their  Calvary. 
How  you  waste  your  emotions  on  the  dead!  Mary 
Hyacinthus,  Ichabod,  have  all,  Rizpah  nothing." 

"  See  here,  daughter ;  let  me  look  down  into  thy  eyes. 
I'm  of  a  mind  to  think  the  sun  has  gotten  into  thy 
brain.  It  gets  into  every  body's  in  this  country."  So 
saying,  he  turned  her  face  toward  his  own.  It  was  a 
bungling  effort  on  his  part  to  parry  her  thrusts  with 
ridicule,  the  last  weapon  of  the  defeated. 

She  was  a  little  indignant,  but  yet  too  earnest  to  be 
diverted,  and  so  followed  up  her  advantage. 

"You  were  the  stronger,  every  way,  and  fenced  well 
against  your  other  self.  The  woman  erred,  sometimes 


The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David, 

grievously,  perhaps,  and  you  had  your  sweet  retails, 
tions.  How  sweet  you  can  tell.  Each  blow  at  her,  fell 
on  me,  my  brothers  and  yourself.  Oh,  it's  the  climax- 
revenge  to  lay  open  with  giant  thrusts,  monstrous  and 
keen,  vein  and  nerve.  One  may  mar  a  good  purpose 
by  pursuing  it  cruelly.  Were  not  your  efforts  to  set 
my  mother  right  severe,  sometimes  ?  " 

"  Did  the  eloquent  Hospitaler  put  these  fine  words 
together  for  thee,  girl  ?  "  testily  questioned  Sir  Charle- 
roy. 

"  No  matter  who  sent  them,  if  they  be  true  words. 
If  you  get  angry,  I'll  be  wounded.  You  need  not  try 
hard  to  hurt  me.  I  will  strive  to  be  all  filial,  while  all 
loyal  ;  but  not  more  so  to  father  than  to  mother." 

"  Well,  but  she  was  a  rheumatism  to  me." 

"  So  be  it  ;  still  she  was  part  of  you.  Does  one  dis 
member  a  limb  that  aches,  or  give  it  tenderer  care  than 
all  others  ?  " 

"  '  It  is  better,'  "  said  Solomon,  '  to  dwell  in  the  wil 
derness,  than  with  a  contentious  and  angry  woman.'  I 
got  heartily  weary  of  an  ache  that  ached  because  it 
ached." 

"I'll  place  Joseph  by  Solomon." 

"  Pray,  how  ?  " 

"  He  espoused  Mary  and  was  with  her,  yet  apart ; 
thus  showing  God's  idea  of  the  needs  of  weary  moth 
ers  in  their  trying  hours,  when  giving  their  strength  to 
another  being.  Joseph  was  kept  as  a  lover  only,  until 
after  Jesus  was  born,  that  his  services  might  have  a 
lover's  tenderness.  I  have  heard  that  the  manhood  of 
Jesus  reflected  the  sweetness  of  Mary  ;  Joseph  kept  his 
wife  in  those  days  sweet,  so  the  kindness  of  that  noble 
spouse  lived  after  all,  an  immortal  influence.  Joseph, 


Two  Dead  Hearts  Uniting  Two  Living  Ones. 


443 


through  Mary  in  part,  determined  the  bodily  traits  of 
the  child  Jesus;  the  latter  influences  all  time." 

"  Why,  truly,  thou  hast  found  a  beautiful  flower, 
Miriamne,  and  I'm  wondering  that  I  never  saw  it  be 
fore  in  Mary's  life.  But,  finally,  I  tell  thee  I  loved 
Rizpah  as  my  soul  at  first." 

"Oh,  yes;  you  both  loved  with  almost  volcanic  ar 
dor.  My  mother  told  me  so  ;  but  this  very  power  and 
inclination  of  passionate  loving  gave  you  each  for  the 
other  power  of  dreadfully  hurting." 

"  Well,  we'll  speak  further  of  this,  perhaps,  another 
time.  The  hyacinth  lures  me  to  Ichabod's  tomb." 

"  The  rose,  emblem  of  Mary,  flower  of  wedded  love, 
is  sweeter  than  the  hyacinth.  Go  home  to  Bozrah, 
father,  I  beseech  you,  so  you  may  prove  yourself  still 
a  Knight  of  Saint  Mary." 

"  Home?  I've  none  !  Bozrah  is  grim  ruins  within, 
without.  There,  as  only  fit  and  in  fit  dwellings,  abide 
the  cormorant  and  hyena.  •  All  hopes  that  ever  centred 
in  that  place  for  me  were  but  dancing  satyrs  at  the 
last  ;  all  loves  but  eagles  with  hot-iron  beaks,  which 
devoured  the  hearts  that  fed  them,  then  fled  away  !  I 
hate  Bozrah  ! " 

"  You  have  a  wife  and  children  there.  I  a  mother. 
Where  the  brood  is,  there  is  home.  Bozrah  has  no 
gloom  for  us,  save  such  as  we  make  for  it.  It  may 
be  a  glad  place  yet.  Remember  that  Kidron  and  Gol 
gotha  were  made  all  beautiful  by  the  fidelity  of  Mary 
and  the  cross-bearing  of  Jesus." 

"  Miriamne,  this  parley  is  useless.  Once  for  all,  hear 
me.  Before  I  wed  thy  mother  I  took  upon  my  soul 
an  impious,  almost  desperate,  vow,  that  I'd  possess 
her  though  the  possessing  ruined  me.  The  strong, 


The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

hopeful  Knight  of  the  Cross  was  domineered  over  by 
his  love.  Before  this  I  had  some  commendable  prin 
ciples  and  a  little  piety.  What  am  I  now,  after  long 
driftings  about  through  wasted  years  of  prime?  I'm 
the  wreck  of  a  man  ;  less  !  a  part  of  a  wreck,  trying  to 
get  made  over  in  a  meaner  pattern  out  of  the  frag 
ments  left.  Thy  mother  unmade  me  !  " 
"Adam  said  something  like  that  of  Eve." 
"  Don't  interrupt  me,  Miriamne.  The  Jewish  maiden 
Zainab  gave  Mohammed,  of  Bozrah,  the  poisoned  lamp 
which  ruined  his  health  ;  the  Jewish  Rizpah  has  such  a 
lamp.  See  me,  wrinkled,  hair  whitened,  all  too  soon  ; 
chivalry,  morality  and  piety  dragged  out  of  me  bit  by 
bit.  I  stand  here  the  caricature  of  what  I  was  or  what 
I  should  be.  I'm  fit  for  neither  war  nor  courtship. 
I'd  make  a  pretty  show  attempting  to  court  Rizpah! 
I've  forgotten  how  such  things  are  done,  and,  besides, 
I'm  not  the  original  Sir  Charleroy  she  wed.  Let  her 
find  him,  or  his  counterfeit,' and  be  happy.  The  origi 
nal  Sir  Charleroy  and  Rizpah  loved  each  other  desper 
ately,  but  these  that  I  know  hate  each  other  as  desper 
ately.  I  tell  thee  it  would  be  legalized  adultery  for 
these  latter  two  to  live  under  the  same  roof,  pleading  as 
justification  the  vows  of  the  other  two  !  Miriamne,  I  tell 
thee  that  thou  mayst  tell  it  on  the  house  tops,  or  hill  tops, 
as  I'll  cry  it  through  eternity,  if  permitted,  Sir  Charleroy 
and  Rizpah,  of  Gerash  and  Bozrah,  died  long  ago  !  The 
devil  stole  their  bodies,  put  an  imp's  spirit  in  each,  and 
then  parted  them  forever.  If  they  ever  meet  it  will 
be  by  the  fiend's  device,  that  he  may  revel  over  their 
warrings  with  each  other  !  Ah,  ha  !  What  the  Roman 
arena  was  to  the  blood-thirsty  populace,  such  to  the 
fiends  the  homes  of  the  world  when  full  of  tumults!" 


Two  Dead  Hearts  Uniting  Two  Living  Ones.    445 

And  Miriamne,  alarmed  by  the  outbreak,  tried  to 
calm  her  father : 

"  Oh,  father,  you  will  need  mercy  some  day  ;  merit 
it  by  bestowing  it.  You  suffer  an  unforgiving  spirit  to 
inflame  your  passion  !  " 

"Forgiving?  What's  the  use?  I've  vainly  tried 
mercy !  " 

"Try  once  more.  The  injured  have  resource  so  long 
as  the\-  have  power  to  forgive.  Remember  Him  who 
in  the  great  extremity  cried  :  '  They  know  not  what 
they  do  !  '  Trust  Rizpah  once  more  !  " 

"  I  do  not  see  the  shadow  of  a  peg  on  which  to  hang 
a  trust." 

"You,  a  Teutonic  Knight  of  St.  Mary!" 

"  Thank  God  Mary  was  not  a  Rizpah  !  " 

"  Mary  had  the  trust  of  Joseph  in  those  dire  days, 
when  nothing  but  a  miracle  could  prove  her  integrity. 
She  presents  not  only  woman's  goodness  but  that  which 
even  the  loftiest  wife  needs,  the  constancy  beyond 
measure  of  her  husband." 

"  Joseph  was  advised  by  an  angel.     I  not." 

"As  you  love  your  mother,  honor  the  woman  who 
mothers  your  children.  They  bear  your  image,  yet  she 
alone,  with  a  sublime  self-forgetting,  struggles  to  have 
them  grow  up  honorably,  purely,  and  in  the  fear  of  God." 

"She  wants  to  make  them  Israelites." 

"Perhaps  so,  and  perhaps  the  Christian  examples 
she  has  seen  give  her  no  reason  to  wish  otherwise.  But 
after  all,  her  way  is  better  than  to  have  left  them  as 
their  father  left  them,  to  become  infidels  or  nothing. 
Oh,  father,  do  not  think  me  bold.  I  speak  because  I 
love  you  ;  as  perhaps  no  other  might  care  or  presume 
to  give  utterance." 


446  The  Queen  of  the  PIousc  of  David. 

"  Well,  girl,  I  guess  I'm  a  double  man  ;  for,  deter 
mined  to  oppose,  I  feel  a  desire  within  to  have  thee 
win  in  this  argument.  I'm  one  compound  of  contradic 
tions.  I  was  a  sworn  bachelor,  then  a  sworn  husband, 
now  I'm  neither.  I'm  a  widower,  with  a  living  wife; 
a  parent  of  three  children  with  only  one.  I  bewail  my 
homelessness,  yet  run  from  an  offered  home.  I  confess 
to  being  useless,  yet  see  a  mission  most  important  at 
my  own  door.  Swearing  loyalty  to  Mary,  I  disregard 
all  she  exemplified — of  late  revealed  to  me  ;  professing 
to  be  a  Christian,  I  live  a  life  that  would  shame  a  de 
cent  Jew.  I  have  a  daughter,  said  by  al]  to  be  much  like 
me  in  temper,  feature,  and  mind,  yet  we  are  here  utterly 
opposed  in  thought  and  purpose.  I've  heard  the  pro- 
foundest  teachers  in  grandest  temples  unmoved  to  this 
duty,  to-day  presented ;  and,  now,  without  the  pale  of 
any  church,  in  the  wilds  of  Jericho,  a  mere  girl,  my 
daughter,  instructs  me  well !  This  all  proves  that  I'm 
the  caricature  of  Miriamne's  father.  If  I  be  Sir  Char- 
leroy,  then  I'm  beside  myself !  " 

"  A  good  half  confession  !  Now  for  the  atone 
ment  !  " 

"  What,  a  bundle  of  contradictions  making  atone 
ment  ?  undoing  the  past !  more  contradictions  ?  " 

"  Righteousness  displaces  all  the  contradictions  of 
life!" 

"  I  could  make  no  atonement  except  by  contradict 
ing  a  score  of  years,  and  going  to  Bozrah  !  Now  hear 
me  finally  ;  by  the  glory  of  God,  alive,  I'll  never  go  to 
Rizpah's  house  !  " 

Miriamne  felt  that  further  persuasion  would  be  futile 
She  made  a  last  request,  then. 

"  Will  my  father  take  me  to  the  outskirts  of  that 


Two  Dead  Hearts  Uniting  Two  Living  Ones.    447 

city?  I'll  enter  alone  to  comfort  the  woman  who, 
notwithstanding  her  faults,  I  believe  to  be  the  noblest 
of  mothers.  She  may  not  have  a  husband ;  she  has  a 
daughter." 

As  the  father  and  daughter  rested  at  noon,  not  far 
from  the  Giant  City,  some  days  after  the  foregoing 
events,  they  beheld  a  single  horseman  from  toward 
Bozrah  speeding  along  the  great  southern  highway. 

"  I  think  he's  a  Jew  and  in  peaceful  pursuit.  I'll 
hail  him,"  said  the  knight,  "  in  the  language  of  Gali 
lee." 

The  rider,  hearing  the  call,  halted.  Glancing  about 
him  he  discovered  the  source  of  the  call,  and  promptly 
reined  his  steed  toward  where  the  pilgrims  were  sitting. 
Instantly  he  began  in  short,  quick  sentences: 

"Wonder  ;  the  face  of  a  Frank,  the  garb  of  a  Turk, 
the  voice  of  a  Jew  !  An  old  man,  a  young  woman  !  A 
Moslem  in  company  with  his  slave  ?  No,  she  sits  by 
his  side  !  A  harem  favorite  ?  No  !  She  is  not  veiled ! 
Ye  do  not  look  cunning  enough  for  magicians,  too  cun 
ning  to  be  pilgrims ;  not  pious  enough,  old  man,  to  be  a 
priest,  and  too  pious-looking  to  be  a  robber." 

"True,  Laconic,"  said  the  knight,  "  I'm  at  no  loss  as 
to  thee." 

"So  it  seems!  But  pray,  Christian,  Jewish,  Druses, 
Turks,  who  are  ye  ?  " 

"We're  pilgrims,  good  runner." 

"  Ha,  ha ;  these  pilgrims  are  a  mad-lot,  with  piebald 
customs !  " 

"What  news,  runner?" 

"What  news!  A  plague  in  Bozrah!  De  Griffin's 
twins  are  nigh  to  death — De  Griffin?  May  be  thou 
knowest  him?  Thou  dost  look  like  him  :  but  he's  dead 


443  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

Now  his  twins  have  no  nurses  nor  mourners,  but  Riz- 
pah,  and  I'm  racing  to  Gerash  to  see  if  I  can  find  a  soul 
to  swell  her  wailings." 

The  rider  turned  his  horse  and  with  a  word,  "Sslamet" 
— "  peace,"  was  gone. 

Miriamne  had  heard  enough,  and  now,  with  re 
doubled  vehemence,  reopened  her  arguments  and  ap. 
oeals  to  her  father  to  go  to  her  home. 

"  I'll  not  go  into  Rizpah's  house.  I  tell  thee  thou 
art  inviting  me  into  hell  !  " 

Miriamne,  in  turn,  replied:  "There  is  good  any- 
where  for  those  that  earnestly  seek  it.  Mohammed, 
they  say,  got  his  first  inspiration  in  Bozrah,  and  he  a 
Moslem,  a  crescent  devotee  !  " 

"  Yes ;  he  wed  a  rich  wife  there,  too,  and  she  was  a 
saint.  I  may  envy  him  in  these  things." 

The  young  woman  hastily  entered  the  city  and 
stopped  for  a  little  time  at  the  mission  house  of  Father 
Adolphus,  briefly,  hurriedly,  to  announce  her  return, 
inquire  the  latest  report  concerning  the  illness  of  her 
brothers,  and  to  beseech  the  old  priest  to  go  out  after 
her  father  ;  if  possible,  to  bring  him  into  the  city  and 
to  the  desolate  fireside. 

"  Well,  well ;  there,  now,  I'd  call  thee  bee  or  hum- 
ming-bird,  truly,  darting  from  point  to  point,  subject  to 
subject,  if  I  didn't  know  I  was  talking  to  an  angel." 

The  sincere  compliment  was  unheard  by  Miriamne, 
for  she  was  gone  ere  it  was  sounded.  The  old  man 
shaded  his  eyes,  looked  after  her  a  few  moments,  then 
girding  himself,  hobbled  down  the  street  to  seek  at  the 
city's  outskirt  the  waiting  knight. 

And  Miriamne,  with  heart  beating  high,  sped  on 
homeward.  But  as  she  approached  it  she  slackened 


Two  Dead  Hearts  Uniting  Two  Living  Ones.    449 

her  pace,  with  questionings  as  to  how  she  had  best  en 
ter,  so  as  to  secure  loving  welcome  and  in  no  wise  per 
turb  by  sudden  surprise.  She  saw  her  mother  through 
the  doorway,  bowed  and  swinging  back  and  forth.  The 
girl's  heart  divined  all ;  "  My  brothers  are  dead  !  "  The 
mother  seemed  oblivious  to  all  about  her,  and  Miri- 
amnc  hesitated  on  the  threshold.  Just  then  the  runner 
galloped  up  to  the  open  door,  reined  his  steed,  and  ex 
claimed  :  "  Out  of  sight,  out  of  mind  !  Death,  like 
poverty,  sifts  our  friends !  Ye  can  hire  mourners 
cheaper  at  Bozrah  than  at  Gerash,  and  there  are  none 
to  be  had  without  coins  !  Gerash  is  distant.  I  had  no 
coins,  and  was  a  fool  to  start,  wise  to  return  !  "  It  was 
Laconic,  and  he  was  gone  before  any  reply  was  given. 
Rizpah  didn't  even  lift  up  her  head  to  notice  his  com 
ing  or  going. 

Miriamne  was  glad  of  the  circumstance,  for  the 
runner  gave  her  words  with  which  to  enter  :  "  A  daugh 
ter  never  forsakes."  She  spoke  thus,  very  softly. 

Rizpah,  perhaps  not  recognizing  the  voice,  moaned 
on,  swaying  as  she  moaned  : 

"  Mother,    mother  ?  " 

Rizpah  slowly  lifted  her  eyes  to  the  speaker ;  then, 
either  by  a  masterful  self-control  or  because  sorrow 
dazed,  she  slowly  and  without  emotion,  addressed  the 
maiden  : 

"  Thou  here?  So,  then,  my  three  are  safe  together, 
before  my  eyes,  in  death.  Thou  wert  buried  years 
ago." 

Without  another  word  the  daughter  and  sister 
quietly  moved  to  the  forms  lying  beside  the  mother, 
and  knelt  down,  bowing,  her  one  arm  flung  over  the 
corses.  Presently  she  reached  out  her  hand  and  it 


45O  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

met  a  warm  clasp  from  her  mother.  The  maiden  knew 
full  well  that  it  meant  welcome.  It  was  death's  vic 
tory  ;  expressive,  unspoken  eloquence.  There  were 
four  hearts  ;  two  still  in  death  ;  two  alive  and  breaking, 
but  the  dead  hearts  somehow  drew  the  living  ones 
together  and  then  they  beat  as  one,  each  all  comfort 
ing  to  the  other.  Two  dead  hearts  bridged  the  gulf 
between  two  living  ones.  There  followed  the  embrace 
and  kiss  of  peace,  and  then  Rizpah  questioned  : 

"  Wilt  stay  with  me  a  little  while,  my  only —  ?  "  there 
upon  she  sobbed  and  was  relieved. 

"  Stay?     Yes,  always1     But  when,  the  burial?" 

"  At  once  !  It's  the  plague  and  the  law  requires 
promptness.  O  Death,  thou  didst  do  thy  bitterest  for 
Rizpah  !  " 

Rizpah  soon  rose  up  and  began  to  busy  herself  about 
the  bodies. 

"  Mother,  tell  me  how  to  aid  you." 

"  Yea,  as  I  need.  Thou  and  I  wilt  carry  them  to 
the  cave  of  entombment." 

"  But  will  there  be  no  funeral  rites  ?  " 

"  I'll  perform  such;  keeping  vigil  as  Rizpah  of  old. 
My  children  were  crucified,  as  were  hers.  All  man- 
kind  turned  from  us  in  our  stress,  and  so  they  died  in 
want." 

"  But,  mother,  the  watching  would  kill  you  !  " 

"Thou  dost  comfort  me,  now.  Oh,  I'd  be  over- 
joyed,  if  I  only  knew  for  certainty  that  death  would 
court  me  at  my  vigil." 

Softly  Miriamne  spoke  : 

"  Sir  Charleroy  is  at  Bozrah." 

"  Now  thou  makest  Bozrah  seem  afar.  Oh,  the 
garments  of  people  may  brush  together  passing,  but 


T-WI  "  Dead  Hearts  Uniting  Two  Living  Ones.    45 1 

still  to  all  things  else  the  passers  be  eternities  apart." 
replied  quickly,  and  yet  with  cool  self-possession, 
Rizpah. 

"  Death,  that  cools  the  pulses,  also  subdues  the 
asperities.  I  could  not  hate  an  enemy  if  I  met  him 
amid  his  dead,"  persuasively  responded  the  maiden. 

"  Imperious,  fanatical,  stubborn  Charleroy  !  change 
able  in  all  but  his  determination  to  make  conquest  of 
the  faith  of  others.  Then,  I  can  not  ask  his  pardon 
for  my  serving  God.  Liberty  came  to  Egypt  because 
the  mothers  of  captive  Israel  were  faithful.  So  says 
our  Talmud." 

"  Sir  Charleroy  respects  at  least,  fidelity." 

"Then  'tis  well  to  have  me  die.  He  never  did  me 
justice  to  my  face ;  let  him  embalm  me  in  honey  after 
I'm  dead,  as  Herod  did  the  wife  he  murdered.  It's  a 
way  of  some  husbands.  But  we  must  be  moving, 
daughter ;  I've  prepared  two  biers.  The  plague  is  a 
stern  messenger,  nor  leaves  room  for  any  dallying." 

And  Bozrah  witnessed  a  strange,  sad  spectacle.  Two 
roughly  constructed  burial  couches  ;  on  each  a  body, 
and  two  women,  the  one  aged,  the  other  youthful,  both 
bowed  with  grief,  slowly  bearing  the  biers  away,  down 
to  the  tomb-hill.  The  elder  directed  ;  and  so  they 
went  ;  first  a  little  way  forward  with  one  body,  then 
returning  to  advance  the  other.  There  were  no 
mourners  following  ;  the  passers-by  offered  no  help  ; 
the  women  of  the  city  drew  their  doors  shut,  and  the 
children  playing  in  the  streets,  when  they  beheld  this 
funeral  procession,  fled  away  with  subdued  exclama 
tions. 

The  ancient  Rizpah,  watching  her  dead  on  their 
crosses,  was  standing  that  time  in  her  valley  of  "  dr}^ 


452  I  lie  Queen  of  tlie  ttouse  of  Uavid. 

bones;"  her  imitator,  Rizpah  de  Griffin,  was  now 
walking  through  that  same  valley.  Both  made  pitiable 
by  desolation.  Neither  was  able  to  hide  her  dead  from 
her  sight  by  looking  for  the  hope  of  the  blessed  resur 
rection.  Their  loving  had  been  fierce  enough,  but  the 
soul-reviving  Spirit  of  the  prophet's  vision  was  not  yet 
seen  to  be  in  the  valley  for  them.  The  two  Rizpahs  were 
"  mothers  of  sorrow,"  but  followed  no  cross  that  had 
on  it  besides  "  death,"  "  victory."  They  went  with 
tears,  but  not  held  by  a  love  that  triumphs  in  "leading 
captivity  captive."  These  ancient  Jewish  mothers 
may  be  put  in  striking  contrast  with  the  Davidic  Queen 
Mary,  who  wept  from  the  Judgment  Hall,  past  the 
cross,  past  the  tomb,  up  to  the  chamber  of  Pentecost, 
from  which  she  viewed  the  transports  of  the  Ascension 
of  her  Son,  her  Saviour,  her  King." 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE  KNIGHT  OF  ST.  MARY  "  AND  RIZPAH  AT  THE 
GRAVE  OF  THEIR  SONS. 

"  Courage,  for  life  is  hasting 
To  endless  life  away  ; 
The  inner  fires  unwaiting, 
Transfigure  our  dull  clay." 
*  *  *  * 

.  Lost,  lost  are  all  our  losses  ; 
Love  set  forever  free  ; 
The  full  life  heaves  and  tosses 
Like  an  eternal  sea  ; 
One  endless,  living  story  ; 
One  poem  spread  abroad, 
And  the  sun  of  all  our  glory 
Is  the  countenance  of  God." 

— GEORGE  MCDONALD. 

"  I  am  ascending  unto  my  Father  and  your  Father,  and  to  my 
God  and  your  God." — JNO.  xx.  17. 

HE  Teutonic  knight  was  standing  in  silent 
contemplation  of  a  pile  of  ruins,  from  the 
center  of  which  rose  a  number  of  stately 
columns  like  so  many  mourners  about  a 
grave.  These  were  all  left  of  a  stately  old  temple. 
Art  had  done  nobly  here  once ;  now  desolation  was 
master,  even  the  name  of  the  structure  being  forgot 
ten.  The  priest  approached,  questioning  within  him 
self  as  to  how  ke  would  address  Sir  Charleroy,  when 


454  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

they  met.  As  he  drew  nearer,  he  thought  here  are  two 
temples  in  decay.  There  came  to  his  mind  out  of  the 
distant  past  a  vision  of  Sir  Charleroy  as  he  was  when 
he  stood  erect,  ruddy-cheeked  and  every  wit  a  man  by 
his  bride's  side,  the  time  of  the  wedding  at  Damascus. 
The  priest,  contrasting  the  man  before  him,  LOW  aged 
and  solemn  faced,  with  what  he  was  then,  thought  "  of 
the  two  ruined  temples,  the  man  is  the  sadder  one.  A 
quarter  of  a  century  slipping  over  a  life,  though  with 
noiseless  feet,  generally  leaves  its  tracks ;  if  pain  and 
passion  have  been  the  companion  of  the  years,  havoc 
is  wrought."  Solemnly,  and  in  measured  tones,  the 
priest's  meditations  having  given  him  free  utterance, 
he  spoke,  quoting  the  words  long  before  sadly  pro 
nounced  by  the  Savior  concerning  Jerusalem's  holy 
place:  "  Destroy  this  temple  and  in  three  days  1  will 
raise  it  up" 

Sir  Charleroy  slowly,  very  slowly,  turning  his  eyes 
upon  the  speaker,  observed  him  from  head  to  foot,  but 
uttered  not  a  word. 

Again  the  priest  spoke  :  "  Time  has  so  changed  both 
knight  and  priest,  that  they  forget  themselves;  nor  is 
it  therefore  wonderful,  they  should  not  remember  each 
other." 

"  Father  Adolphus  !     Miriamne's  work  ?  " 

"  What  matter  whose  act  if  we  see  God  back  of  the 
actor.  I've  a  message  from  on  high!  " 

"  Why,  thou  dost  astound  me  !  " 

"  Methinks  no  man  more  needs  astounding.  May 
righteousness  enter  the  gates  opened  by  wonder,  and 
so  move  thee  into  Rizpah's  home  and  thine  ;  death  is 
there  !  " 

"  Is  there  ?   has  been  !     When  love  was  slain,  I  shut 


"  The  Knight  of  St.  Mary  "  and  Rizpah,  etc.     455 

out  its  bleeding  form  with  the  mourning  robes  of  a 
long  forgetfulness. 

"  There  are  hopes  that  die  to  live  no  more  ;  so  there 
are  homes  which  bereft  of  their  household  Penates  are 
doomed  to  grim  ruin  forever.  See  these  giant  dwell 
ings.  They  tell  it  all. 

"Thou  art  a  Christian,  I  believe;  but  like  the  disci 
ples,  Cleopas  and  Luke,  with  eyes  holden  ;  not  discern 
ing  the  Lord. 

"Just  as  some,  having  embalmed  the  body,  looked 
into  the  tomb  at  a  napkin  only,  seeing  merely  the 
place  where  He  lay.  Though  puzzled  that  the  grave's 
seal  was  broken,  they  were  still  blind  to  the  miracle  of 
a  new  dawn;  simultaneous  with  the  unclasping  of 
night's  grim  arms.  They  had  heard  of  the  resurrection 
to  be,  yet  they  reasoned  that  the  Promiser  was  surely 
dead.  Love  alone,  in  the  person  of  Mary  Magdalene, 
most  loving  because  most  forgiven,  overleaped  all 
doubts,  disappointments  and  fears,  to  hie  away  in  the 
thinning  darkness,  in  an  utter  abandonment  to  her 
trust  in  the  words  of  Him,  to  whom  her  heart  was 
given.  That  was  love  indeed." 

"  Oh,  priest,  'tis  so.  A  woman  ;  a  woman  ;  leading 
in  religion !  I  do  not  much  bepraise  her,  for  she,  be 
ing  a  woman,  easily  could  believe,  where  men 
doubted." 

"  It  would  have  been  cruel  to  have  crossed  her  faith, 
would  it  not,  Sir  Charleroy  ?  " 

"  Yes,  on  my  soul,  yes  !  " 

"  Then  go  to  the  bier  of  thy  boys.  Let  love  over 
leap  all  obstacles." 

"But  let  me  rest,  priest.  I've  had  the  full  draught 
of  trouble's  cup.  I'm  quit  of  further  conflict." 


45 6  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  Thou  believest  ?     Listen: 

"To  whom  also  he  shewed  himself  alive  after  His 
passion  by  many  infallible  proofs,  being  seen  of  them 
forty  days,  and  speaking  of  the  things  pertaining  to 
the  kingdom  of  God  — 

"Christian  Cross-bearing  knight,  hear  me!  The 
suffering  Savior  could  never  have  revealed  Himself, 
as  the  Almighty,  Risen  Christ,  if  there  had  been  no 
cross.  By  what  He  suffered  He  had  gain  of  power. 
Thy  wrinkles,  disciplines  and  all  such  like,  fit  thee  now 
to  minister  in  the  chamber  of  death  ;  even  where  now 
of  all  places  on  earth,  thou  art  needed." 

"  But  my  case  is  so  peculiar,  my  home  so  un 
natural  !  " 

"Is  there  no  balm  in  Gilead,  Sir  Charleroy?  If 
thou  and  she  have  been  great  sinners,  He's  a  great  Sa 
vior,  and  more,  a  patient  one.  Hast  thou  thought 
how  He  lingered  near  His  followers  in  an  overplus  of 
love,  lured  from  the  triumphs  of  heaven,  to  personally 
deal,  all  comfortingly,  all  encouragingly,  peculiarly 
with  individuals?  For  thirty-three  years  in  the  flesh 
he  wandered  about,  doing  good,  healing  all  those  op 
pressed  of  the  devil  ;  but  the  finest  hours  of  all  His 
life  lay  in  those  forty  days  between  the  resurrection 
and  the  ascension.  Well  might  He  say  to  Mary: 
'  Touch  me  not,'  when  in  love,  she  fain  would  have 
retarded  Him  by  sentimental  fondling.  Listen  now: 

"I  have  not  yet  ascended:  Go  to  my  disciples,  say 
to  them  :  I  ascend  unto  my  Father  and  your  Father, 
to  my  God  and  your  God  !  '  He  was  making  a  sublime 
ascent  along  golden  steps,  and  the  number  of  those 
steps  were  ten  and  two,  even  as  the  number  of  Israel's 
tribes." 


"  The  Knight  of  St.  Mary"  and  Rizpah,  etc.     457 

"I  do  not  cc-iprehend  this  mysticism,  though  the 
word-frame  is  b«  utiful." 

"  Then  kno\v  ;L.  On  the  cross,  Immanuel  cried  :  '  It 
is  finished  ! '  Glorious  salvation's  work  was  finished  ; 
but  then  He  1 'tigered  still  to  bless,  especially  His 
friends.  Count  the  steps.  He  appeared  first  to  Mary 
Magdalene,  out  of  whom  he  had  cast  the  seven  devils 
and  who  doubtless  clung  to  the  Savior,  her  only  hope, 
her  only  deliverance  from  the  awful  realities  of  the  trag 
edy  in  her  soul.  Thy  Rizpah  was  never  so  ill  as  Mag 
dalene,  yet  surely  she  is  worthy  as  much  tenderness." 

"Secondly.  Jesus  appeared  to  His  mother  ;  love's  ap 
pearing.  I  see  her  now,  in  mind,  by  the  record  here 
unnamed — left  in  the  sacred  privacy  of  her  grief ;  too 
stricken  to  minister,  but  close  to  the  triumph,  because 
all  needful  of  its  blessing.  I  see  a  third  step — Jesus, 
by  special  appointment,  meeting  the  backsliding  fish 
erman  of  Tiberias,  now  gone  away  to  his  nets,  per 
suading  himself  he  had  done  and  suffered  enough,  even 
as  does  Sir  Charlcroy  to-day." 

"  I've  been  called  Pilate.  Go  on.  Call  me  Peter  ;  I 
can  bear  it." 

"  Fourthly.  The  Christ  joined  Luke  and  Cleopas,  the 
Greek  proselytes,  now  doubters ;  but  the  chill  of  their 
misgivings  was  burned  away  in  hearts  inflamed,  while 
they  journeyed  to  Emmaus." 

"  Now  call  me  Luke-Cleopas,  priest.  I've  the  chill 
of  the  doubts,  I'm  sure." 

"  Fifthly.  He  came  to  His  own  little  church-of-the 
upper-room,  to  breathe  on  it  peace  and  to  display  His 
all-convincing  body ;  then  He  waited  a  week  for  a 
special  unfoldment  to  Thomas,  the  all-doubter,  leav 
ing  him  filled  with  all  faith." 


45  8  Tlie  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"Oh,  that  He'd  come  to  Sir  Charleroy ! "  said  the 
knight. 

'  He  does,  but  the  knight's  eyes  are  holden,  and  he 
starves  while  toiling  for  fish  in  a  dead  sea.  Listen  to 
these  words  by  the  shore  of  Tiberias : 

"  '  Then  Jesus  saith  unto  them,  Children,  have  ye 
any  meat  ?  They  answered  him,  No. 

"  'And  he  said  unto  them,  Cast  the  net  on  the  right 
side  of  the  ship,  and  ye  shall  find.  They  cast  there 
fore,  and  now  they  were  not  able  to  draw  it  for  the 
multitude  of  fishes. 

"  'Jesus  saith  unto  them,  Come  and  dine.  And  none 
of  the  disciples  durst  ask  him,  Who  art  thou  ?  knowing 
that  it  was  the  Lord. 

" 'Jesus  then  cometh,  and  taketh  bread,  and  giveth 
them,  and  fish  likewise.' 

"  Oh,  Sir  Charleroy,  cast  in  the  net  on  the  right  side, 
then  come  and  dine." 

"But  I'm  an  odd  man;  not  like  others." 

"  He  that  is  All  Fullness  later  appeared  to  multi 
tudes  of  every  clime,  the  representatives  of  the  Church 
universal,  ever  full  of  odd  people  ;  again  to  the  apostle 
of  good  works,  James,  called  the  pillar  of  faith.  The 
tenth  appearing  was  at  Bethany,  as  the  blesser  and 
promisor  to  all.  After  that  he  showed  himself  to  Paul, 
proof  that  he  was  a  returning  Christ,  and,  last  of  all, 
to  John  on  Patmos.  This  the  John  that  was  care-taker 
of  Mary,  the  mother;  John,  the  all-loving.  I  read  each 
page  of  the  glowing  Apocalypse  as  a  love-letter  from 
heaven  to  a  mother,  from  a  Son  who  carries  eternally 
within  His  glorious  heart  the  image  of  the  woman 
great  chiefly  for  her  great  love  of  Him.  She  loyally 
followed  Him  to  the  grave  ;  He  lovingly  followed  her 


•'  The  KnigJit  of  St.  Mary"  and  Rizpah,  etc.     459 

beyond  it.  When  he  set  John  to  picturing  heaven  as 
a  virgin-bride  and  His  Church  as  a  woman  clothed 
with  the  sun,  Christ  had  surely  the  choicest  of  women, 
Mary,  in  His  heart." 

"  And  the  Heart  of  Heaven  might  well  lovingly  re 
member  the  mystical  Rose,"  quoth  the  knight. 

"  As  heaven  loved  Mary,  so  should  noble  men  love 
'  bone  of  their  bone,  flesh  of  their  flesh,'  as  Christ 
loved  the  Church  and  gave  Himself  for  it." 

"  Thou  wert  never  wed,  good  priest  ?  " 

"  No  ;  perhaps  'tis  well  so.  I've  had  a  work  in  help 
ing  those  who  were  wed  unhappily,  to  peace;  forget 
ting,  in  serving  their  need,  my  own  joy." 

"  Then  thou  hast  no  idea  of  what  it  is  to  deal  with 
a  Rizpah  as  a  wife." 

"  I  know  she's  a  woman;  a  marvel  in  her  fidelity  to 
her  children.  She  may  have  infirmities,  but  there  was 
a  woman,  bowed  grievously  for  eighteen  years,  fully  re 
stored  by  one  kind  touch  of  the  man,  Jesus,  ever  all- 
pitiful  and  tender  toward  women." 

"  But  that  one  was  willing  to  be  healed." 

"  No  ;  she  was  trying  to  hide,  but  the  Savior  called 
her  out,  just  to  heal  her." 

"  Now,  then,  let  me  cross  swords  at  close  quarters, 
since  thou  dost  press  me.  I  ask  thee,  as  a  Christian 
priest,  wouldst  thou  have  me  tolerate  the  sins  of 
heresy  in  my  own  home?  Remember,  Jezebel,  she  be- 
beguiled  Ahab,  her  daughter,  Athaliah,  and  her  hus 
band,  Jehoram,  also,  into  gravest  transgressions.  So 
God's  people  were'led,  little  by  little,  to  the  groves  of 
Astarte.  I  think  I've  a  good  parallel:  Jezebel  was  the 
daughter  of  a  priest,  so  this  Rizpah  of  Bozrah.  With 
her  hot  temper,  pride  of  exalted  birth,  and  a 


460  T/IL  O.ueoi  of  the  House  of  David. 

mouthful  of  arguments  ;  a  man  meets  such  a'  woman 
as  a  pigmy,  to  crouch,  or  as  a  knight,  to  resist." 

"The  name  Jezebel  means  'chaste.'  Her  pious 
namers  must  have  respected  chastity  once.  Her  prac 
tices  were  all  loyalty  to  Ahab  and  her  children,  though 
her  theories  may  have  been  odious.  All  that  is  re 
corded  of  them,  which  engenders  hate  for  her  mem 
ory,  is  the  hatefulness  of  the  way  she  pressed  her 
creeds  upon  others,  the  Jews.  Which  the  more  like 
Jezebel — Sir  Charleroy  or  Rizpah  ?  " 

"But  Rizpah  was  ardent  to  lay  our  love,  and  our 
children  on  her  altar.  Like  the  women  who  brought 
their  jewels  to  Aaron  to  be  transmuted  into  the  golden 
calf!  I  could  only  protest,  and  I  did." 

"  Did  not  the  men  of  Egypt  and  Israel  first  proclaim 
the  worship  of  Apis?  Were  not  the  women  merely 
following  their  lords?  There  are  many  women  who 
defile  their  jewels  because,  with  contempts  that  turn 
their  hearts  to  ashes,  their  lords  do  not,  as  they 
should,  wear  both  the  wives  and  the  jewels  on  strong 
and  loyal  hearts." 

"  Oh,  I  perceive  !  Rizpah  has  been  parading  to  thee 
her  family  troubles.  A  true  woman  would  have  rather 
given  herself  to  nest-hiding." 

"Thou  hast  not  hidden  thy  nest,  but,  like  a  wander 
ing  bird,  fled  it." 

"  She  never  asked  my  aid  ;  she  left  me  in  London." 

The  knight  was  charging  blindly,  and  defeated. 

"  It  was  not  for  her  to  crave,  but  for  thee  to  lavishly 
bestow.  She  left  thee  ?  What  better  could  Abigail  have 
done  than  turn  her  beautiful  countenance  and  good  un 
derstanding  away  from  churlish  Nabal,  who  lived  chiefly 
to  gloat  about  the  cross  on  which  he  had  placed  her?  " 


"  The  Knight  of  St.  Mary  "and Rizpah,  etc.     461 

"Does  the  sacrist  advocate  divorce?" 

"  No  !  No  rupture  of  the  tie  sealed  in  heaven  ;  but 
when  by  recriminations  a  home  becomes  a  living 
burial,  a  hell,  then  two  houses  are  better  than  one.  I 
feel  here  keenly,  knight.  My  mother  had  a  monstrous 
man,  my  father,  in  wedlock.  He  left  her  to  battle 
single-handed  for  her  little  ones.  Her  patient,  sad 
face  comes  ever  before  me.  Oh,  how  she  eschewed  all 
other  men,  though  courted  by  worthier  than  he;  how 
she  strove  to  hide  my  father's  faults  and  taught  us,  his 
children,  to  try  to  respect  him  !  1  was  but  a  youth 
when  he  died,  but  I  tell  thee  I  dared  not  look  upon  his 
coffined  face  lest  I  should  curse  him,  then  and  there!" 

The  knight  co\vered  as  if  from  a   malediction. 

"There,  there!  for  heaven's  sake  pause,  Sacrist! 
Abashed  at  home,  lashed  by  the  teacher  of  the  faith 
I've  suffered  to  defend,  I'll  be  driven  to  flee  to  the 
wandering  Bedouin,  or  to  death  !  " 

"  They  say  Lucifer,  unable  to  commit  suicide,  plunges 
headlong  into  the  abyss  when  thwarted  in  any  design.' 

"Call  me  Lucifer;   another  epithet  !" 

"  There  are  no  black  gulfs  into  which  thou  canst  flee 
from  the  memories  which  conscience  points  to  when 
duty  is  contemned." 

"  Is  it  the  priest's  purpose  to  harass  my  soul?  " 

"  No  ;  but  rather  to  lead  it  back  to  its  peace  that 
thou  didst  leave  long  ago.  There  is  only  one  way  of  re 
turn,  that  a  very  Via  Dolorosa.  Mary  along  it  walked 
with  her  son,  her  God  and  Savior,  to  the  cross  and  the 
resurrection  !  By  the  cross  God  gives,  we  go  to  our 
glory." 

"  I've  tried  my  best  to  be  a  loyal,  Christian  knight. 
Give  me,  at  least,  that  award." 


462  The  Queen  oj  the  House  of  David. 

"I  can  not  praise  justly;  I  dare  not  flatter;  I  must 
in  all  faithfulness  say  thou  hast  yet  to  learn  the  alpha 
bet  of  loyalty,  as  interpreted  by  that  glorious  pair, 
Mary  and  the  Christ — the  triumphant  Eve,  the  tri 
umphant  Adam.  Thou  hast  been  following  afar  off, 
nearer  the  flickering  of  Judas'  illusive  lantern  than  to 
Him  who  pleaded  amid  His  griefs,  all  self-forgetting, 
with  His  Roman  guards  to  let  His  little  band  of  follow 
ers  depart  unharmed.  The  woman  whom  thou  ex- 
altest  as  the  queen  of  hearts  is,  after  all,  not  thy 
pattern.  Judas  and  Mary  are  in  lasting  contrast  ;  he 
all  treason,  she  fidelity's  choicest  fruit.  It  is  well 
to  see  to  it  to  which  one  is  the  nearer.  Oh,  Geth- 
semane,  garden  of  touching  contrasts  !  There  love 
was  most  grossly  interpreted  by  the  shrines  of  Baaltis  ; 
there  most  grandly  interpreted  by  love's  sublimest 
offering  that  night  the  Saviour  agonized.  There 
twice  the  enemy  of  man  did  his  almost  worst  ;  once 
by  the  rites  of  the  groves,  once  in  the  wracking  tempt 
ations  of  the  Man  of  Sorrows.  The  arch-fiend  was 
baffled,  and  then  the  ingenuity  of  hell  was  taxed  to 
one  last,  most  terrific  and  dastardly  assault.  What 
thinkest  thou  was  the  climax?  The  last  effort  to  blot 
out  the  hope  of  man  was  made  through  betrayal  by  a 
kiss ;  the  finest  sign  of  affection  befouled  by  treason  ' 
When  the  wedded  betray  each  other,  alas,  for  the 
world  ! " 

Sir  Charleroy  surrendered  now,  exclaiming: 

"  Oh,  Father  Adolphus ;  again  I  see  there  is  a  mist 
on  my  knightly  cross!  I'm  unworthy  to  wear  the  sign. 
It  has  been  an  emblem  of  death ;  I  see  it  now  an  em 
blem  of  life  and  love." 

"  Will  the  knight  look  on  the  dead  faces  of  his  sons  ?  " 


"  The  Knight  of  St.  Mary  "  and  Rispah,  etc.     463 

"Yes,  yes  !  In  the  name  of  God,  yes !  Lead  me  as 
a  child,  for  I'm  nothing  more." 

The  knight  was  in  the  throes  of  transformation. 
He  and  the  priest  walked  side  by  side,  mostly  in 
silence,  broken  anon,  only  by  questions  of  Sir  Charle- 
roy's,  like  these : 

''Am  I  worth  saving?  Shall  I  ever  become  able  to 
fully  sound  and  truly  express,  in  life,  the  depths  of  all 
thou  hast  told  me  ?  And  Rizpah !  what  will  Rizpah 
say  or  do?  " 

The  old  priest  answered  ever  : 

" '  Awake,  thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the 
dead,  and  Christ  Himself  shall  give  thee  light ! '  ' 

The  lone  burial  cave  was  reached.  Nigh  the  two 
biers  stood  Rizpah  and  Miriamne  and  but  a  little  way 
off  Sir  Charleroy  and  the  priest.  The  maiden,  with 
surprised  joy,  saw  the  two  men,  but  Rizpah,  busy  with 
her  thoughts,  never  lifted  her  eyes.  The  latter  drew  a 
slab  away  from  the  entrance  of  the  tomb  and  then 
moaned  :  "  Better  I'd  never  been  a  mother." 

Father  Adolphus  seized  the  opportunity  to  say  in 
deep,  entreating  tones  : 

"'  I  will  ransom  them  from  the  power  of  the  grave; 
I  will  redeem  them  from  death.'  ' 

The  mother  supposing  it  was  some  kindly  neighbor, 
still  unnoticing  any  thing  but  the  speaker's  voice, 
moaned  on,  sitting  nigh  the  tomb-door,  between  the 
dead,  a  hand  on  each. 

Then  the  old   shepherd  drew  nearer,  saying  : 

"  Sisters  of  Israel,  only  believe.  Beyond  this  stony 
gate  there  is  an  eternal  home  fairer  than  any  dream, 
There  all  broken  homes  shall  rise  in  joy,  their  treas 
ures  reunited  and  happy." 


464  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David 

Now  Rizpah  rose,  and  observing  the  speaker  silently 
fora  moment,  she  did  not  seem  offended  at  t.he  priest's 
presence.  Misery  had  overcome,  at  least  for  the  time, 
her  prejudice.  Presently  she  exclaimed: 

"  My  family  reunited  in  heaven  ?  Ah  !  that  can  not 
be,  and  if  it  were  so,  what  joy  to  ever  repeat  the  bick 
ering,  Warnings  and  wrongs  of  this  poor  miserable  life?'* 

"  Thou  wilt  know  as  thou  art  known  there  and  sea 
eye  to  eye,"  said  the  missioner. 

"  Oh,  if  it  could  be  only  so !  " 

"  Wouldst  like  it  so  ?  " 

"  Yes,  by  the  grave  of  my  darlings,  I  swear  it !  I 
loved  them  with  my  life  madly.  All  the  love  I  had 
was  concentrated  in  them.  I  knew  when  I  began  idol 
izing  them  that  I  had  loved  before  full  well  my  hus 
band  and  daughter.  I  knew  this,  because  the  love  I 
withdrew  from  them  rushed  forth  to  the  boys.  But  my 
idols  are  dead,  and  now  if  my  love  do  not  dry  up, 
it  will  hunger,  feed  on  me  myself,  then  turn  to  ferocity 
wolf-like." 

"  Perhaps  a  husband  restored  may  fill  and  enlarge 
thy  heart.  There  never  was  a  great  sorrow  but  there 
stood  near  it  a  great  joy,"  spoke  the  priest. 

"  Ah,  he  is  stubborn,  I,  perhaps,  proud.  Immensity 
is  between  me  and  Sir  Charleroy. " 

"  Hast  thou  not  yet  had  enough  of  pride's  dead  sea 
apples  ?" 

"  Alas  !  why  ask  me  ?  " 

"  If  thou  art  ready  for  a  better  day,  he  may  be." 

"Ready?  I've  always  been.  What  I  did  for  con 
science  sake  and  these  children  is  done.  What  he  did 
to  me  he  only  can  undo,  as  far  as  the  past  can  be 
undone." 


"T/te  Knight  of  St.  Mary  "  and  Rizpah,  etc.      465 

Then  Miriamme  waved  her  hand  to  her  father,  un 
seen  by  Rizpah,  entreatingly,  as  if  to  say  :  "  Come,  but 
not  too  quickly,  a  little  nearer." 

Sir  Charleroy  complied  and  not  as  a  laggard,  for  Riz 
pah  seemed  changed  from  what  she  was  in  London. 
He  now  saw  her  as  in  those  golden  early  days  at  Ger- 
ash.  But  the  truth  was,  the  change  was  chiefly  in  him 
self. 

"  Rizpah  !  " 

"  Sir  Charleroy  de  Griffin  !  "  replied  the  woman  ad 
dressed  deliberately,  and  apparently  emotionlessly,  as 
she  fixed  her  eyes  upon  the  knight.  Then  her  eyes 
turned  toward  the  tomb,  seemingly  inviting  his  to  fol 
low  there  their  course.  She  stepped  back  and  glanced 
from  man  to  tomb,  by  the  glance  saying  more  plainly 
than  words  : 

"  That  is  thy  work.  Thou  didst  open  that  grave  in 
my  pathway." 

The  knight  stood  by  her  side  and  put  forth  his  hand 
to  clasp  hers,  but  with  a  respectfulness  that  betokened 
the  cavalier  and  one  not  quite  certain  of  his  welcome. 

Then  spake  Father  Adolphus  : 

"  Remember  Damascus,  both  of  you.  Come,  Miri- 
amne,"  he  continued,  drawing  the  maiden  aside,  "  I've 
a  giant's  grave  to  show  thee." 

The  priest  and  the  maiden  moved  to  a  turn  in  the 
road  and  passed  behind  the  crumbled  wall  of  a  Roman 
palace. 

"  But,  Father  Adolphus,  where  now  ?  What  of  the 
giant's  grave?  " 

"Be  content,  girl.  I  mean  the  grave  of  mad  love 
grown  to  mad  hate.  It  will  be  made  and  deep  enough 
by  thy  parents,  but  they  can  best  make  it  alone." 


466  The  Qmen  of  the  House  of  David. 

And  Miriamne  fell  upon  her  knees  in  silent,  grateful 
prayer;  a  great  burden  that  had  borne  her  down  for 
years  seemed  lifted  from  off  her.  The  Miserere  that 
had  wailed  through  her  life  so  long  now  changed  to  an 
Easter  anthem. 

Father  Adolphus  after  a  time  recalled  her  by  a  single 
question  : 

"  Dost  see  the  fierce  woman  and  the  vultures  fleeing 
away  before  the  coming  of  our  Christian  Mother  of 
Sorrows  ?  " 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

THE  ROSE,  QUEEN  OF  HEARTS  IN  THE  GIANT  CITY 

"  Around  thy  starry  crown  are  wreathed 

So  many  names  divine  ! 
Which  is  the  dearest  to  my  heart 
And  the  most  \vorthy  thine  ? 

'  "  Mother  of  sorrows,'  many  a  heart, 

Half  broken  by  despair, 
Hath  laid  its  burden  by  the  cross, 

And  found  a  mother  there. 
'  Mary'  the  dearest  name  of  all, 

The  holiest  and  the  best, 
The  first  low  word  that  Jesus  lisped 
Laid  on  His  mother's  breast." 

— A.  A.  PROCTOR. 

HERE  had  come  a  great  change  to  the  home 
of  the  De  Griffins  at  Bozrah,  without  and 
within.  Shrubs  and  vines  grew  about  the 
old  stone  house  in  profusion,  birds  sang 
contentedly  at  its  casements,  and  kittens,  undisturbed, 
played  around  its  doors.  These  were  tokens  of  the  new 
inner  life. 

The  queen  of  that  domestic  palace  was  happy ;  its 
king  restored  to  his  rights  and  duties;  therefore  there 
was  abounding  delight  and  peace  within  and  without. 
Sir  Charleroy  and  Rizpah,  the  two  mature  wed-lovers 
that  abode  there,  had,  out  of  all  their  estrangements 


468  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

and  tribulations,  come  to  understand  at  last  that  love 
grows  out  of  law  and  is  more  than  a  sentiment,  free  to 
go  when  lured  or  flee  from  that  which  burdens.  It  was 
to  them  like  a  revelation  from  heaven  to  find  that  love 
is  the  vassal  of  the  will  and  can  be  made  to  go  where 
it  ought,  as  well  as  be  reined  back  from  lawless  rovings. 
They  found  there  was  great  satisfaction  in  their  efforts 
to  be  very  agreeable  to  each  other.  Sir  Charleroy  con 
stantly  assured  Rizpah  of  his  belief  that  they  were  now 
more  really  lovers  than  they  had  been  in  those  fervent 
days  at  Gerash.  She  believed  this  new  creed  with  the 
avidity  of  a  heart  sore  with  long  waitings  for  its  pro 
claiming. 

The  knight  bethought  himself  of  a  graceful  advance, 
and  introduced  the  matter  with  a  sort  of  parable.  "  I've 
been  thinking  to-day  that  the  only  man  whom  I  ever 
felt  like  kissing,  the  man  who  loved  me  to  the  full  of 
his  great  heart,  is  present  with  us  in  spirit  these  days 
to  joy  over  our  reconciliation.  I've  felt  a  strange  thrill 
at  times  which  made  me  think  I  was  touched  by  the 
glowing  heart  of  Ichabod." 

"Ichabod?" 

"  Yes  ;  he  that  fell  in  our  defense  the  day  of  that 
perilous  battle  with  those  Mamelukes,  near  Gerash. 
Ah,  he  had  the  heart  of  a  mastiff,  the  soul  of  a 
martyr !  " 

"Thy  love  is  constant.     But  what's  in  thy  hand  ?  " 

The  knight  had  hoped  for  the  question. 

"A  token  I  took  from  his  corpse.  It  was  given  him 
by  a  Copt  priest,  whose  life  he  saved  in  Egypt.  See." 

"I  see  a  stone  in  a  gold  setting;  on  the  stone  an 
image,  I  think  of  a  woman?  I've  noticed  it  with  thee 
before." 


The  Rose,  Queen  of  Hearts  in  the  Giant  City.    469 

"I  knew  it!  Once  I  thought  thou  didst  observe  it 
askance,  as  if  a  trifle  jealous.  Well,  no  more  secrets, 
no  more  jealousies.  What  says  Rizpah?" 

"  I  say  amen  ;  and  yet  I  say  tell  all,  or  none  ;  either 
way  I  shall  be  content.  Love's  trust,  when  full,  has 
few  questions  and  no  doubts." 

"  Nobly  spoken,  but  yet  I  must  tell  all.  The  image 
is  of  Neb-ta,  from  the  country  of  Hamites." 

"  What  an  odd  figure  !     Her  head-dress,  a  basket !  " 

"  The  basket  on  her  head  and  the  little  house  by  her 
side  betoken  that  she  was  the  presiding  spirit  of  do 
mestic  life.  I  love  Neb-ta !  She  ever  reminds  me  of 
woman  at  her  best,  as  a  mother  brooding  her  chicks." 

"Praise  be  the  Patriarchs;  they  left  us  testimonies 
which  makes  it  needless  to  go  to  Egypt  for  precepts 
concerning  home-love  !  "  responded  the  wife. 

"  But,  Rizpah,  thou  dost  divert  me  !  Wait ;  I'm 
coming  around  with  the  patriarchs,  by  way  of  Jerusa 
lem,  to  Bozrah." 

"  Now,  that's  a  fine  parade  ;  I  await  it,"  the  woman, 
with  quick  reply,  answered. 

"  Tradition  says  this  Neb-ta  will  stand  before  Osiris 
and  Isis  in  the  judgment  'hall  of  truth,'  where  another 
deity  styled  'divine  wisdom  '  opens  the  books  of  men's 
earthly  deeds.  As  the  great  Anubis  weighs  them, 
Neb-ta  stands  by  ready  to  cut  away  the  failings  of 
those  weighed.  When  the  scale  of  their  merit  is  lack 
ing,  she  herself  leaps  into  it,  to  weigh  it  down  in  their 
behalf." 

"A  pretty  myth  for  grim  old  Nile  Land  !  " 

"  It  proves  man's  belief  that  at  last  he'll  need  help." 

"  It  is  strange  those  women  degraders  should  have 
allotted  one  of  that  sex  so  fine  a  part  in  the  hereafter." 


The  Q:tccn  of  t/te  House  of  David. 

"  It  illustrates  the  constant  conviction  in  men's  hearts 
that  woman's  sympathy  abides  to  the  last." 

"In  some  men's  hearts,  say.  All  are  not  equally 
just." 

"  I'll  be  direct,  Rizpah,  and  sincere.  I've  felt  an  in 
describable  unworthiness  of  all  I  enjoy  here  in  the  house 
saved  and  brightened  by  my  wife.  I've  been  saying, 
'  Oh,  that  some  one  like  Neb-ta  would  cut  off  my  fail 
ings  and  enrich  my  merit.'  " 

Sir  Charleroy,  after  this  long  journey  around  about, 
felt  relieved.  He  had  made  his  confession  and  waited 
his  absolution. 

Rizpah's  eyes  brightened  up,  and,  though  bedewed, 
shone  with  the  luster  of  gleaming  affection. 

He  knew  full  well  how  to  interpret  that  look,  and 
evinced  the  quality  of  the  interpretation  by  quickly 
embracing  her.  There  passed  between  them  saluta 
tions  having  the  purity  of  manna,  the  lusciousness  of 
Escol's  grapes. 

"  Will  Sir  Charleroy  need  to  go  to  Egypt  for  a 
Neb-ta  ?  " 

"  No,  never,  while  I've  an  all-forgiving,  all-blessing 
Rizpah  ! " 

Encouraged  by  the  success  attending  one  simile,  he 
attempted  another  later: 

"  I  was  thinking,"  tenderly  replied  the  knight,  "that 
I've  sinned  against  God  in  the  name  of  religion,  and 
unconsciously  offered  '  the  female  lamb.'  ' 

"Pardon  my  stupidity,  but  yet  I  do  not  gather  what 
is  thy  meaning." 

"  My  Rizpah  has  been  sacrificed  for  years." 

"  The  wife  tried  to  reply,  "  I'm  no  lamb  without 
blemish;"  but  her  tears  and  his  passionate  embrace, 


The  Rose,  Queen  of  Hearts  in  the  Giant  City.    471 

checked  her  utterance.  To  those  without,  there  is 
much  incomprehensible  in  the  estrangements  and  rec 
onciliations  of  human  pairs,  made  utterly  one  in  wed 
lock.  If,  since  the  Incarnate  died  for  love,  and  the 
Temple's  veil  was  rent,  there  has  been  on  earth  an  un- 
revealed  Holiest  of  Holy  places,  it  has  been  where  wed 
lives,  alienated,  have  been  reunited.  It  is  like  a  sacri 
lege  to  attempt  its  depicting  to  stranger  eyes  or  ears. 
Many,  for  themselves,  have  been  within  that  holy  place  ; 
each  twain  meeting  its  own  peculiar  and  varied  ex 
periences.  But,  having  come  forth  with  a  natural  and 
most  meritorious  reverence  for  the  events  of  such  su 
preme  hours,  they  are  wont  to  withdraw  from  human 
curiosity  all  that  transpired,  as  completely  as  they  hide 
from  the  world  their  souls'  dealings  with  God.  They 
who  have  never  been  within  that  Holy  Place,  can  not 
understand  about  what  there  transpires  ;  those  that 
have  been  there,  defend  their  sacred  right  to  keep  from 
all  the  world  that  which  they  saw  and  felt,  by  refusing 
to  give  audience  to  the  experiences  of  others. 

Sir  Charleroy  and  Rizpah,  at  the  time  of  the  foregoing 
conversation,  entered  serenely,  lovingly  that  Holy 
Place.  Then  they  took,  as  it  were,  wings  of  memory 
and  shields  of  faith.  The  grim  giant  house  was  forgot 
ten.  Its  walls  seemed  to  thin  a\vay,  until  they  had  to 
themselves  a  broad,  but  secluded  world.  There  was 
light,  but  not  exposure  ;  repentance,  mutual,  and  for 
giveness,  not  only  free,  but  in  every  syllable  seeming  to 
have  balm  for  healing.  There  followed  an  unutterable 
sense  of  getting  nearer  and  nearer  to  each  other.  They 
felt  as  if  they  had  but  one  will,  and  that  guided  by 
God  ;  one  mind,  and  that  clear  and  heaven  soaring. 
The  only  sense  of  being  two,  was  in  their  beating 


472  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

hearts,  and  then  two  hearts  seemed  more  blessed  than 
one  ;  for  being  two,  there  was  the  joy  of  their  beatings 
for  and  against  each  other.  Words  fail  ;  it  would  be 
sacrilege  to  go  further.  Let  the  curtain  drop.  Leave 
them  with  a  thousand  angels,  winged  and  liveried  in 
white,  with  wands  of  silence  to  keep  watch  and  ward 
until  morning  ! 

On  the  morrow  they  knew  that  both  had  surren 
dered  and  both  conquered.  And  by  a  paradox,  to 
those  uninitiated,  each  rejoiced  as  much  in  the  sur 
render  each  had  made,  as  in  the  victory  which  had 
been  won  by  the  one  defeated.  Defeat  and  victory 
was  their  common  wealth.  There  was  a  full  com 
munity  between  them,  and  that  made  both  rich, 
whatever  their  possessings.  Thenceforward,  between 
them,  there  was  perfect  frankness  and  consideration  ; 
no  sarcasms,  no  recriminations,  and  hence  no  need 
of  foils  nor  masks.  Christ  had  captured  the  Crusader's 
heart,  and  he  was  now,  as  never  before,  able  to  reveal 
the  King  of  his  soul  to  Rizpah.  She  moved  uncon 
sciously  into  a  beauty  of  character  like  unto  that  of 
Mary,  and  her  heart  began  singing  a  '  Magnificat.' 
The  woman  was  transformed,  if  possible,  more  com 
pletely  than  the  man.  For  years  amid  hurtings  she 
had  schooled  herself  to  reticence,  and  had  been  an 
enigma  to  all  who  knew  her;  but  now,  under  the 
rising  of  this  new  sun,  she  opened  as  the  blossom  of 
early  spring.  Sir  Charleroy,  indeed  all  who  knew 
her,  attested  delight  and  surprise ;  but  Rizpah  was 
as  much  surprised  at  herself  as  any  other  could  be 
at  her. 

"  I  didn't  know  I  could,"  she  exclaimed  often  with 
laughter  and  tears.  She  seemed  to  break  awav  and 


The  Rose,  Queen  of  Hearts  in  the  Giant  City.    473 

run  from  her  former  self  as  one  from  some  phan 
tom,  as  a  child  from  a  reputed  witch,  or  a  freed 
bird  from  a  prisoning  cage.  She  saw  herself  grow 
ing  in  all  these  things  every  moment  and  exclaimed, 
in  the  rush  of  feeling;  "  I  could  fly,  I'm  sure!"  Then 
tenderly,  "  I  would  not,  my  mate,  for  a  thousand  worlds, 
unless  thou  couldst  fly  with  me.  No,  no,  Charleroy,watch 
my  wings  ;  they  are  thine  ;  cut  them  if  they  grow  or 
flutter  for  rising.  If  they  do,  they'll  do  it  themselves, 
without  my  willing."  Again  the  sacredness  of  the 
holiest  came  over  them. 

"Oh,  Rizpah.  I  know,  I  knew  this  wealth  of  love 
was  in  thee ;  I've  wondered  often  why  I  could  not  find 
it." 

"  I  did  not  know  it,  my  lover  king  ;  I'm  glad  thou 
hast  found  it,  for  thy  finding  feeds  me  with  light  and 
glory  !  I'm  carried  back  to  Gerash  and  Damascus." 

"  I  think  not.  There  were  flaming  swords  at  Eden's 
Gate,  after  the  fall.  No  going  back  ;  but  the  swords 
gave  light  for  departure  into  broader  places.  I  think 
that's  the  symbol  of  the  sword  and  the  flame,  Rispah." 
Again  he  spoke  :  "  Hadrian  built  a  temple  of  Venus 
over  the  tomb  of  Christ,  but  Hadrian  and  Venus  are 
no  more  in  power  and  there  has  been  a  resurrection 
from  that  tomb." 

"  Ah,  Sir  Charleroy,  I'm  a  child  in  thy  creed,  but  I'm 
comforted  by  thy  resurrection  hopes,  especially  since 
conversing  yesterday  more  freely  than  ever  with  our 
lovely  child  of  God,  Miriamne." 

"  Hers  is  an  angel's  visit,  wife." 

"And  angel-like,  with  filial  spirit,  she  comes,  this 
time,  with  request  for  our  consent  to  an  act  of  great 
import  to  her." 


474  TJie  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  So  ;  and  what  may  it  be  ?  Though  I  know  it  can 
only  be  good." 

"She  came  to  tell  us,  that  she  desires  publicly  to 
profess  the  religion  of  the  Naz —  -  of  Jesus." 

Sir  Charleroy  felt  a  twinge  of  an  old  pain,  and  for  a 
moment  queried  within  :  "  Will  the  old  struggle  over 
faiths  again  confront  us?"  But  he  dismissed  it  with 
an  unexpressed  "  Impossible,  we're  allchanged  !  "  Then 
replied  he  quietly  with  a  question.  "  Does  the  dear 
girl  fully  understand  the  seriousness  of  the  act?  If  she 
do  and  then  acts,  I'll  be  glad  to  commit  her  to  Christ 
as  her  Bridegroom  and  King." 

"  We  cannot  be  with  her  always,  and  she  seems  de 
termined  to  go  through  life  unwed." 

"  A  Neb-ta,  an  angel  spinster,  mothering  other  peo 
ple's  chicks !  But  what  says  my  Rizpah  of  our  daugh 
ter's  purpose  to  profess  her  faith  ?  " 

"I?  This:  God  being  my  Helper,  I'll  never  again 
stand  between  Him  and  any  soul,  except  it  be  to  pray 
for  that  soul's  health." 

Just  then  the  maiden  entered  bearing  a  lamp  which 
suddenly  lighted  the  room,  now  well  nigh  in  darkness. 
She  presented  a  most  striking  and  suggestive  figure. 
Her  eyes  were  full  of  her  heart's  chief  question,  and, 
standing  in  the  light  of  her  own  bearing,  she  seemed 
to  fitly  represent  the  part  she  had  borne  in  that  house 
hold. 

Sir  Charleroy,  anticipating  his  daughter's  question, 
greeted  her  with  promptness  thus  :  "  Sunshine,  thy 
purpose  I  know.  It's  all  between  God  and  thyself. 
Go  gladden  Father  Adolphus  and  Cornelius  with  an 
early  profession." 

She  was  filled  with  surprise,  and  voiced  its  chief  cause: 


The  Rose,  Queen  of  Hearts  in  the  Giant  City,    47  5 

"Cornelius?     He's  at  Jerusalem  i  '''' 

"  Well,  if  so,  'tis  wonderful,  since  I  met  him  here 
to-day." 

"  I  wonder,"  she  meditated,  meanwhile  speaking  her 
thoughts  as  if  unconscious  of  those  about  her,  "  What 
brought  him  here?" 

"  Oh,"  replied  the  father,  "  he  says  '  to  see  Father 
Adolphus  about  the  church  of  Jerusalem  ;  '  but  Father 
Adolphus  says  'the  young  man  came  because  he  could 
not  help  it,  to  see  his  good  angel." ' 

•' '  His  good  angel  !  '     Whom  ?  " 

"  Now,  Sunrise,  guess  !  When  thou  dost  so,  to  make 
short  work,  begin  with  the  good  angel  of  us  all,  Miri- 
amne." 

Miriamne  lifted  her  hand  reprovingly,  but  the  tell 
tale  crimson  hung  confession  on  her  checks,  while  her 
lips,  wreathed  in  smiles,  told  her  pleasure. 

"  Well,  now,  will  my  father  go  with  me  to  good 
Adolphus  about  my  profession  ?" 

"  As  thou  mayst  like,  but  it  will  be  easier  to  reduce 
three  to  two  than  four  to  two!  " 

Again  the  uplifted,  reproving  hand  and  the  blush 
and  Miriamne  ran  out. 


"  Do  not  reopen  that  question  settled  once  ;  it  can 
only  pain  us  both  to  recur  to  it." 

"'Reopened!'  'Settled!''  exclaimed  Cornelius. 
"  Not  with  me.  Nothing  in  silence  can  settle  it  ;  and  it 
is  always  open  to  me,  sleeping  or  waking." 

"  The  consciousness  of  duty  done  comes  like  the 
breezes  of  Galilee,  turning  all  meanings  to  a  song  within 
me." 


4/6  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"Oh,  Miriamne-,  who  is  it  decrees  that  we,  belonging, 
all,  each,  to  the  other,  should  be  torn  asunder  ruthlessly  ? 
Duty,  conscience !  Hard  metallic  words  when  they 
describe  the  links  of  a  chain  !  Ah,  our  misconceptions 
often  bind  us  to  pain  ;  this  one  I  cannot  bear!  " 

"  And  yet,  Cornelius,  you  told  me  in  that  Adriatic 
storm  you  could  as  easily  drown  a  passion  rising 
against  righteousness  as  you  could  drown  the  body 
then,  by  a  plunge  into  the  billows  !  " 

"  You  held  me  back  when  I  moved  forward  to  show 
how  easily  I  could  make  the  plunge." 

"But  then  you  had  no  intention  of  leaping  to 
death  !  " 

"  Not  while  held  back  by  Miriamne  !  " 

"  I  ?     Poor,  \Veak  I,  hold  you  ?  " 

"To  me  your  touch  has  ever  had  persuasion  and 
might !  Oh,  woman,  you  lead  me  captive  to  your  will 
in  chains  riveted,  unyielding,  and  yet  of  golden  de 
lights." 

"  Say  not  so.  We  have  each  a  great  mission,  but  apart. 

"Apart!  The  decree  that  settles  our  courses  that 
way  is  monstrous.  It  is  not  of  God.  He  ordained 
that  our  race  go  in  pairs.  And  when  He  set  up  the 
new  kingdom  of  Jesus,  its  heralding  disciples  were  sent 
forth  two  by  two.  As  Moses  needed  his  Hobab,  Christ 
his  confidants,  so  need  I  a  yoke-fellow.  I've  no  ambi 
tion  to  live,  much  less  to  work,  unless  I  have  my  heart's 
idol  with  me." 

"  Illusion." 

"Call  it  'Maya1  if  you  like;  but  '  Maya'  Brahm's 
wife,  illusion,  made  the  universe  visible  to  him.  So 
say  those  ancient  mythologians.  I  can  see  nothing 
without  my  Miriamne!" 


The  Rose,  Queen  of  Hearts  in  tJie  Giant  City,    477 

"Oh,  man,  hold;  nor  pain  me  further!  I  cannot 
help  you.  How  can  I,  since  my  own  chosen  work 
seems  too  great  forme  !  I'm  like  a  mere  shell,  drifting 
with  the  tides,  without  sail  or  helm  ;  the  harbor  un 
known.  I  only  know  I  carry  a  precious  pearl,  truth, 
and  that  there  are  those  who  need  it.  I  must  bear  it 
to  them." 

"  I'm  a  shell,  without  helm  or  sail,  and  have  the  same 
pearl.  Let  me  voyage  with  you." 

"And— what  ?  " 

"  In  all  brevity — marry  me  !  " 

"That  cannot  be,  I  fear.  I'd  rather  be  the . 

Can't  I  be  your  ideal  as  Mary?"  She  blundered  amid 
her  efforts  to  express  herself,  and  the  tell-tale  blush 
betokened  defeat. 

"Yes;  be  my  Mary,  and  let  me  take  the  place  as 
your  Joseph.  Mary  was  a  wife  and  mother.  The 
greatest  of  God's  works  in  the  old  dispensation  was  to 
translate  men;  in  the  new  dispensation,  seeking  to  sur 
pass  the  old,  He  presented  a  perfect  woman,  in  her 
highest  estate,  as  the  queen  of  a  home  !  " 

The  woman  was  silent  for  time.  There  then  seemed 
to  her  to  be  two  Miriamnes,  and  the  debate  was  trans 
ferred  from  being  between  the  young  man  and  herself 
to  these  two  which  she  seemed  to  be.  One  Miriamne 
said  "Yield,"  one  "  Be  firm."  One  said,  "  He  has  the 
better  reasons,"  one  said  "  Nay  ;"  one  said,  "  It  is  pleas 
ant  to  be  overcome,"  the  other  said  "  J/<rjv7,  Maya, 
Maya  !  "  Then  recovering  herself  she  exclaimed,  "  I 
wish  the  priest  were  here  ;  he'd  guide  us  by  the  Divine, 
word." 

"  I  have  a  holy  text,"  and  drawing  a  line  at  a  ven 
ture,  the  youth  repeated  these  words  : 


TJic  Queen  of  t lie  House  of  David. 

" '  God  said  it  is  not  good  that  man  should  be  alone  !  ' 

She  smiled  and  stammered  : 

"Oh,  Cornelius!  I  want  to  admire  you  and  lean  on 
you  as  my  guide,  teacher,  pastor ;  but  you  meet  all  my 
approaches  that  way,  transformed  to  a  lover." 

"  Maya  !  Maya  !  Miriamne  ;  let  the  illusion  work  ; 
sleep  the  Leathen  sleep  ;  yield  to  love's  dream  ;  then 
comes  the  full  noon  to  awaken  to  marriage  joy.  Thou 
wilt  find,  not  above  thee  but  at  thy  side,  then,  the 
teacher,  guide;  shepherd  as  well ;  but  also  the  husband." 

Miriamne  had  reached  a  point  of  hesitancy,  which  is, 
in  all  lives,  just  a  step  from  surrender,  and  the  lover, 
made  alert  by  his  ardor,  perceived  the  advantage. 
Though  a  prey  to  hopes  and  fears,  an  incarnation  of 
paradoxes,  in  which  bashfulness  contested  with  au 
dacity  for  control  of  the  will,  he  gathered  all  his  powers 
into  a  grand  charge.  With  a  tender  vehemence  he 
stormed  the  citadel  of  the  heart  before  him.  First  he 
imprisoned  her  hand  in  his;  he  had  done  so  before. 
Now  it  fluttered  strangely ;  presently  it  rested  as  a 
bird ;  at  first  as  if  frightened,  then  helpless,  then  con 
tent.  All  that  followed  may  be  easily  imagined.  Suf 
fice  to  say  that  Cornelius  Woelfkin  just  then  believed 
life  worth  living  and  the  universe  made  visible,  though 
not  by  an  illusion. 

Just  as  many  another  of  Eve's  daughters  placed  as 
she  in  a  tempest  of  delights,  she  confessed  her  capitu 
lation  by  a  series  of  retorts,  which  gave  her  relief  from 
tears  by  affording  apologies  for  laughter. 

"  No  woman  ever  so  loved  as  I  now?  You  men  all 
talk  that  way  at  betrothal !  " 

"  '  To  death  ! '     Miriamne,  'twill  be  true  with  me." 

"  Yes,  at   betrothal  and  when  their  wives  are  dead, 


The  Rose,  Queen  of  Hearts  in  the  Giant  City.    479 

they  say  men  are  very  affectionate.  But,  Cornelius, 
remember  I'll  expect  sweets  between  times.  Do  not 
love  me  to  death  at  first,  vex  me  to  death  later,  then 
go  mad  for  love's  sake  after  I'm  gone  !  " 

He  vowed,  protested  and  assured  ;  she  believed  him 
without  the  shadow  of  a  doubt.  They  were  irrevocably 
committed  to  each  other  now.  There  was  a  rush  of 
thoughts,  plannings,  questionings  and  hopes.  Two 
lives  apart  converging,  becoming  mysteriously  one. 
Over  them  arose  that  wondrous  sun  which  illumines 
some  betrothal  days.  They  were  both  very  happy, 
very  proud,  and  also  each  to  the  other  very  beautiful. 
The  harmless  conceits  of  love  possessed  them  and  they 
persuaded  themselves  easily  that  they  were  at  the  cen 
ter  of  all  things,  even  of  the  infinite  love  of  God.  The 
glow  of  their  own  hearts  brightened  to  them  all  things 
immediately  about  them,  and  they  entered  that  arcana 
of  delights  where  secret  blessings  may  be  experienced 
but  can  not  be  depicted.  They  ate  of  that  hidden 
manna  which  is  reserved  alone  for  those  who  sincerely 
love  and  are  loved.  No  being  ever  loved  as  they,  who 
afterward  despised  or  regretted  the  enchantment,  al 
though  it  brought  some  pain  or  at  the  last  ended  in 
disappointment.  None  ever  having  been  for  a  season 
in  that  Beulah-Land  but  wishes  himself  there  again. 
None  who  comprehends  the  thrillings  of  lover  days 
can  fail  to  envy  more  or  less,  if  they  are  loveless,  those 
who  are  in  love  as  these  twain  were. 

Much  of  the  ridiculing  of  this  grand  passion,  affected 
by  some,  is  after  all  the  result  of  envy,  secretly  long 
ing  for  that  beyond  its  reach.  Sometimes  the  enrapt 
ured  themselves  attempt  this  deriding,  but  theirs  is  an 
hysterical  laughter,  a  feeble  effort  to  rest  from  the  in- 


480  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

tensity  of  their  rapture  or  to  hide  their  secret  from  N 
others.  The  laughter  of  all  such  as  the  foregoing  is 
hollow  and  eventually  turns  the  shame  back  upon  the 
ridiculers  who  would  cover  others  with  it  ;  for  love, 
while  it  is  an  angel  of  sunshine,  has  also  the  power  oi 
carrying  to  every  heart  which  shamefully  entreats  it 
remorse,  humiliation  and  pains  as  numberless  as 
nameless. 

Cornelius  and  Miriamne,  the  young  reformers,  hav* 
ing  embarked  fully  upon  the  full,  glowing,  exalting, 
triumphant  tide  of  their  love  were  themselves  reformed 
and  transformed.  A  while  ago  each  was  willing  to  die 
for  the  world,  now  each  was  willing  to  die,  if  need  be, 
for  the  other  and  not  for  humanity's  sake,  unless  some 
way  the  heart's  idol  was  to  be  part  of  the  reward  of 
that  sacrifice.  This  new  tide  carried  them  quickly  to 
that  place  of  paradoxical  oscillations,  the  place  wheie 
the  lover  is  one  moment  utterly  self-denying,  the  nex>; 
utterly  grasping;  willing  to  be  annihilated  one  instant 
in  behalf  of  another,  and  then  in  an  avariciousness 
without  a  parallel  on  earth,  the  next  moment  willing 
to  annihilate  the  universe  rather  than  be  bereft  of  the: 
one  object  deemed  above  all  others. 

The  young  lovers  passed  through  the  usual,  often 
experienced,  often  depicted,  old,  old,  ever  new  phases 
of  this  relation.  The  fire  kindled  in  their  hearts  sped 
from  center  to  center  of  their  beings,  the  laughter  of 
secret  joy  quivered  along  every  nerve  of  each.  Each 
was  happier  than  it  was  possible  to  tell,  even  that  other 
one  that  awakened  the  joy.  Their  gait,  their  blushing 
cheeks,  their  flashing  eyes,  and  their  words  proclaimed 
unmistalcable  the  complete  coronation  of  love.  They 
believed,  and  perhaps  properly,  that  they  were  enjoy- 


TJie  Rose,  Queen  of  Hearts  in  the  Giant  City.    4.8 1 

ing  the  seraphic,  exuberant,  mellow,  yet  exciting  de 
lights  of  an  hundred  ordinary  lives  merged  into  one. 
Each  in  turn,  over  and  over,  in  repetitions  that  tired 
neither  to  utter  nor  to  hear,  said  to  the  other:  "  I  love 
you."  A  rain  of  impassioned  kisses  made  reply.  Time 
was  not  observed  ;  they  forgot  their  former  hurry,  that 
pushed  them  earnestly,  ever  toward  duty,  when  they 
were  committed  to  being  reformers.  They  were  only 
and  completely  lovers  now,  and  lovers  are  beings  whose 
existence  is  in  a  heaven  where  there  are  no  clocks. 
The  sun  set  over  Bozrah  while  the  twain  communed, 
but  there  was  so  much  light  in  their  hearts  they  did 
not  observe  the  lull  of  night  around  them.  Existence 
seemed  to  them  a  living  fullness,  a  soaring  upward  with 
out  friction  or  effort,  and  they  incarnated  that  which 
at  last  makes  heaven,  perfect  desire  perfectly  satisfied. 
They  were  presently  recalled  to  the  things  outside  of 
themselves  by  the  sound  of  some  one  approaching. 

"  It's  Father  Adolphus.  I  know  his  step,"  remarked 
Miriamne. 

Cornelius,  remembering  his  recent,  successful  assault, 
was  encouraged  to  attempt  another.  His  heart  whis 
pered  to  him  :  "  Why  not  make  this  matter  final  now?" 
His  heart  seemed  to  grow  pale  and  trembled  at  its  own 
whispering,  until  he  himself  grew  pale  and  trembled 
throughout  his  whole  being,  at  the  audacity  of  the 
thought.  But  love's  suggestions  are  ever  very  domi 
neering  ;  this  one  dominated  the  man  instantly,  and  he 
acted  on  it. 

"  Miriamne,  why  not  permit  Father  Adolphus  now 
to  seal  our  betrothal  with  his  blessing?  " 

"  He  will  bless  us,  I  know,"  quoth  the  maiden,  eva 
sively  ;  but  she  knew  what  her  lover  meant  full  well. 


482  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

Not  only  so,  her  heart,  against  her  judgment,  wai 
siding  for  the  blessing. 

The  youth  felt  certain  he  had  carried  one  line  of  de 
fense,  and  now  went  charging  onward,  determined  to 
carry  all  before  him. 

"Yes;  he  will  bless  us,  I  know,  if  we  ask  him.  I'll 
ask  him,  and  then,  Miriamne,  mine,  I'll  call  thee  no 
more  sister,  but  wife." 

"  Oh,  you  are  in  such  a  hurry!  This  is  all  too  sud 
den.  I — only  wanted  to  be  engaged — not  married, 
perhaps,  for  years.  We  could  work  for  the  Master — " 

She  was  interrupted,  as  victorious  lovers  usually  in 
terrupt. 

Just  then  the  priest  entered.  Miriamne  tried  to 
greet  him  with  a  smile  and  a  sentence,  but  she  was  un 
der  a  spell.  She  seemed  to  herself  to  be  a  different 
woman  than  she  was  when  he  last  met  her  guide.  She 
spoke  a  few  meaningless  words,  which  were  lost  in  the 
vigorous  utterance  of  her  companion,  as  he  explained 
the  betrothal  and  requested  its  ratification. 

The  aged  man  of  God  looked  tenderly  down  on 
both,  and  then  questioned : 

"  Miriamne,  I  know  his  heart  toward  thee;  is  thine 
resting  on  his  ?  " 

The  maiden  drooped  her  eye-lids,  but  the  tell-tale 
blush  on  her  cheek  gave  answer. 

"  Shall  I  commit  you  to  each  other  before  God,  for 


ever 


Her  hand  rose  in  an  effort  to  restrain,  but  it  fell  back 
into  her  lap,  as  if  unwilling  to  do  so. 

"  Bless  us  quickly,  good  father,  I  pray  you/'  spoke 
Cornelius. 

"  Clasp  four  hands  crossed,"  said  the  priest. 


The  Rose,  Queen  of  Hearts  in  the  Giant  City.    483 

The  maiden's  hands  joined  those  of  the  young  man, 
and  yet  one  drew  back  a  little,  as  if  to  say,  Wait. 
The  motion  was  slight ;  then  she  found  voice. 

"  But,  Father  Adolphus,  do  you  think  God  will  con- 
demn,  if  we  do  ?  " 

"  God  made  such  as  ye  are  to  love  each  other.  What 
says  thy  conscience  ?  Speak  frankly  now,  girl ;  thou  art 
with  those  that  care  for  thee  with  an  eternal  regard." 

"  My  conscience  does  not  condemn,  and  I  commit 
all  I  am  to  the  guidance  of  you  two  men.  I  feel 
quiet  and  safe  in  the  committal." 

And  the  solemn  sealing  words  were  soon  spoken. 

"Shall  I  pronounce  you  husband  and  wife  ?"  ques 
tioned  the  priest. 

Cornelius,  like  a  knight  in  full  charge  desirous  of 
taking  all  before  him  as  trophy,  exclaimed  quickly, 
confidently  :  "  Yes,  yes,  all !  " 

Then  Miriamne  recovered  herself  in  the  emergency, 
and  with  maidenly  dignity  and  tenderness,  yet  with 
unalterable  firmness,  said  :  "  Nay." 

"  But,  Miriamne—" 

The  .youth  could  proceed  no  further.  He  was  de 
feated  by  the  glance  that  met  his,  filled  with  pious, 
kindly,  yet  firm  dissent.  She  spoke  then  freely. 

"  Before  God  we  are  affianced  ;  the  first  step,  as  an 
Israelite,  I've  taken.  We  are  now  bound  to  each 
other  forever.  I  am  proud  to  wear  the  yoke  of  be 
trothal.  We  must  wait  before  the  final  words  are 
spoken,  until  we've  seen  my  parents,  and  until  God 
has  given  us  further  wisdom." 

She  prevailed.  Shortly  after  the  foregoing,  Corne 
lius,  taking  a  tender  farewell,  returned  to  his  work  at 
Jerusalem. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 
THE  QUEEN  AND  THE  GRAIL  SEEKERS. 

"  My  good  blade  carves  the  casques  of  men ; 

My  tough  lance  thrusteth  sure, 
My  strength  is  as  the  strength  of  ten, 
Because  my  heart  is  pure. 

"  Sometimes  on  lonely  mountain  meres ; 

I  find  a  magic  bark, 
I  leap  on  board,  no  helmsman  steers, 
I  float  'till  all  is  dark. 

A  gentle  sound,  an  awful  light ! 

Three  angels  bear  the  Holy  Grail, 
With  folded  feet,  in  stoles  of  white, 

On  sleeping  wings  they  sail. 

So  pass  I  hostel,  hall  and  grange; 

By  hedge,  and  fort,  by  park  and  pale, 
All  armed  I  ride,  what  e'er  betide, 

Until  I  find  the  Holy  Grail. 

— TENNYSON. 

"  Moreover   certain  women  of  our  company  amazed  us,  having 
bee«  early  at  the  tomb." 

ANOTHER  Easter,  to  some  the  brightest  yet, 
smiled  in  Bozrah,  and  Miriamne  was  at  the 
Christian  Chapel. 

Father  Adolphus,  after   serious,  tender 
greeting,  questioned  : 

"  I  wonder  thy  father  came  rot  to-day?  " 

"  Oh,  he's  celebrating  the  resurrection  of  love,  joy. 


The  Queen  and  the  Grail  Seekers.  485 

and  peace,  at  home.  You  often  told  me  these  were 
the  realities  of  Christ's  rising." 

"  Thy  joy  in  this  must  reach  all  fullness  ?  " 

"I  don't  know,  I'm  in  a  strange  way — very  happy, 
yet  very  restless." 

"  I  have  seen  souls  before  at  their  noon  ;  hast  thou 
not  observed  how  the^air  seems  to  tremble  sometimes 
at  midday?  This  is  not  fear  but  fullness." 

"  Oh,  my  shepherd,  I'm  not  at  noon  yet,  only  dawn. 
I've  only  begun  my  work." 

"  Has  our  missionary  Cupid  other  couples  at  odds  to 
reunite  ?  " 

"Perhaps  so;  but  whether  God  calls  me  to  such 
work  or  not,  this  much  I  know,  He  has  put  a  bur 
den  on  me." 

"Will  Miriamne  confide  it  to  me — or  has  the  lover 
dethroned  the  priest?" 

"  There  now,  never  say  that  again  !  None  on  earth 
can  dethrone  in  my  heart  my  constant  friend  and 
guide;  yea  under  God,  my  savior!  Had  there  been 
no  Father  Adolphus  there  would  have  been  no  lover  ; 
at  least  no  Christian  Cornelius,  as  my  heart's  lord." 

"  I  fear  Miriamne  in  her  generous  desire  to  cheer  a 
tired  old  man  flatters." 

"  No  ;  not  flattery,  but  just  award.  As  the  ancient 
captives  on  their  return  to  their  own  Israel  gave  their 
wealth  to  provide  crowns  for  their  priests,  so  do  I  to 
day  offer  the  finest  gold  of  my  heart  to  the  man  who 
piloted  me  with  purity,  patience,  and  wisdom,  along 
and  over  perilous  ways,  to  happiness  beyond  all  words 
to  express." 

The  old  missionary's  face  expressed  the  wondrous 
comfort  he  felt  in  the  words  of  his  convert. 


486  The  Queen  of  tJie  House  of  David. 

"  And  what  is  it  that  burdens  thee,  daughter?  " 

"  I  hope  my  pastor  will  not  be  offended,  but  I'm 
burdened  by  the  slow  dawning  of  religious  day.  Why 
does  it  take  so  long  to  convert  the  earth  ?  " 

"  The  zeal  of  the  young  convert  fills  thee!  " 

"  Ah,  but  that  trite  answer,  defense  of  the  slow  prog 
ress  of  true  or  false  creed,  after  all  does  not  answer. 
I  feel  those  Easter  services  at  times  lifting  me  up,  out 
of  and  beyond  myself,  out  of  all  thought  of  my  own 
final  glory,  and  to  anxiety  for  a  lost  Israel,  a  lost  world  ! 
I  think,  at  times,  I  comprehend  what  was  meant  by 
the  descent  to  the  grave,  the  captivity  of  death,  the 
triumphal  ascent,  and  then  I  wonder  and  doubt." 

"  Wonder  and  doubt  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  I  wonder  at  the  grandeur  of  all  that  the 
resurrection  implies,  and  seeing  it  unrealized  I  doubt 
whether  my  interpretation  of  it  be  the  right  one. 
Worse  than  that,  I'm  pained  by  darker  doubts.  For 
give  me,  but  my  poor  soul  sometimes  questions 
whether  or  not  God  has  grown  weary  or  failed  to  keep 
His  promises.  Oh,  these  doubts  pain  me  to  my  heart's 
core,  but  they  will  come  !  I  see  day  by  day  on  every 
hand  such  widespread  gloom  ;  not  only  that  very  few 
walk  in  the  light,  but  how  many  shadows  fall  on  those 
who  profess  to  have  entered  the  light  of  the  Rising?  " 

"  Alas,  day  drags  wearily !  "  slowly  responded  the 
priest. 

"  Yes  ;  the  centuries  since  Calvary,  filled  with  misery, 
ignorance,  and  sin,  seem  to  me  to  have  rebuke  in  them 
to  all  who  saw,  from  time  to  time,  the  Gospel  light,  and 
imperious  urgency  for  those  who  see  it  now." 

"  But  the  church  is  doing  its  best  to  get  onward, 
Miriamne," 


The  Queen  and  the  Grail  Seekers.  487 

""That  I  doubt,  though  I'd  fear  to  be  heretical." 

"Again,  I  do  not  comprehend  thee,  girl." 

"That's  it;  I  do  not  comprehend  myself,  or  what  it 
is  that  I'm  stirred  to  be  or  do.  I  think  that  there's 
a  reason  for  sadness  at  Easter  lime.  It  is  the  re 
minder  of  a  great  hope  unfulfilled.  Over  twelve  hun 
dred  years  have  passed  away  since  Christ  arose,  typical 
of  the  rising  of  mankind  by  faith  to  all  that  was  noble 
and  blissful,  and  yet  we  are  all  in  the  dim  twilight  of 
the  morning.  Oh,  my  teacher,  it  seems  to  me  as  if  a 
funeral  chord  went  weeping  through  every  Easter 
anthem." 

The  old  priest  sat  silently  for  a  time,  then  bowed  his 
head  and  wearily  sighed  ;  "  I  have  done  my  best  any 
way!  " 

"  Oh,  do  not  think  I  doubt  that!  No,  no;  I'd  not 
hint  a  rebuke  of  my  noble  guide  ;  but  I  can't  make 
you  understand  me  !  Nobody  seems  to  grasp  my 
meaning!  Yet  of  this  I'm  certain,  I  want  to  do  some 
thing  differing  from  what  has  been  ;  something  great, 
revolutionary,  for  the  world,  for  Christ." 

"  All  reforms  are  revolutionary ;  all  consecration  to 
noble  work,  noble." 

"I  suppose  I  express  myself  as  vaguely  as  other 
Christians,  whose  efforts  are  chiefly  words.  But  why 
is  it  that  there  can  not  be  a  presentment  of  Divine 
truth  in  such  a  simple  and  attractive  form  as  to  make 
all  hearing  and  seeing  love  it  ?  Why  is  it  that  the  fol 
lowers  of  truth  separate  into  armies,  not  only  not 
sympathizing  with,  but  opposing  each  other?  Why  do 
not  all  having  a  common  Father  and  one  Saviour,  join 
as  one  loving  family  to  bear  aloft  the  banner  of  the 
Invincible  ?  " 


The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  That  day  will  come  in  God's  good  time." 

"  Oh,  again  forgive  me  ;  but  that  trite  apology  for  the 
delayed  dawn  seems  to  me  to  fling  the  blame  on  God 
in  order  to  palliate  man's  indifference." 

"  Miriamne,  thou  art  thoughtful  beyond  thy  years, 
but  what  wouldst  thou  have  ?  " 

"  Some  one  to  show  me  how,  and  when,  and  where 
to  proclaim  a  revolution  !  There  is  need  that  Israel 
believe  ;  that  one  half  the  race,  its  women,  be  crowned 
with  its  full  privileges  and  powers ;  that  Christian 
humanity  check  war,  banish  poverty  and  bring  in  uni 
versal  justice." 

"  Revolutionist,  indeed  ;  though  a  blessed  one  art 
thou  !  " 

"So  I'm  often  told  ;  but  who  will  show  me  how  to 
work  for  such  ends!  " 

"  Hast  thou  among  thy  knightly  companionships 
heard  of  the  Grail  knights?  " 

"I've  heard  of  them;  but  not  a  great  deal.  Why 
ask?" 

"Thou  art  like  them." 

"  I'm  glad  to  know  whom  I'm  like  ;  tell  me  of  them 
that  I  may  know  myself." 

"  They,  as  their  life  work,  and  with  charming  enthu 
siasm,  sought  an  object  pure  and  noble,  but  which  none 
but  they  themselves  could  see." 

"  Did  they  obtain  their  object  and  do  much  good  ?  " 

"  They  were  a  blessing  to  the  world  ;  but  sometimes, 
like  others  seeking  lofty  ends,  they  failed.  Eternity 
alone  can  estimate  their  work  and  worth." 

"  Where  are  they  now  ?  " 

"  Their  successors  are  like  thee.  That  grail  guild  of 
old  is  now  no  more." 


The  Queen  and  the  Grail  Seekers.  489 

"  Tell  me  all  about  them  and  the  Grail !  " 

"  Listen.  Joseph  of  Arimathaea,  he  that  secretly  fol 
lowed  the  Lord  in  his  lifetime,  and  openly,  after  he 
saw  the  glory  of  His  crucifixion,  is  said  to  have  caught 
the  blood  that  flowed  from  the  speared  side  in  the  pas 
chal  vessel  or  cup  used  at  the  last  supper.  There  is  a 
cathedral  in  Glastonbury,  England,  which  once  I  saw, 
erected  on  the  place  where  Joseph  builded  a  little 
wicker  oratory,  when  there  as  a  missionary.  At  least 
they  say  he  once  was  there.  The  aged  Joseph  died  and 
the^Grail  or  Passion  cup  passed  into  the  custody  of  other 
holy  men.  Finally  a  custodian  of  it  sinned,  and  there 
upon  it  was  caught  away  quickly  to  heaven.  But  there 
is  a  legend  that  it  is  brought,  from  time  to  time,  to 
earth,  only  to  be  seen  by  those  that  are  pure — virgin 
men  and  women.  Then  out  of  the  yearnings  for  the 
cup's  presence  (for  it  is  said  it  gave  unutterable  joy 
as  well  as  miraculous  healings  to  any  that  came  nigh 
to  it),  an  order  of  knights  sprung  up,  to  seek  it,  every 
where  in  earth.  They  were  sworn  not  to  disclose  their 
mission,  and  bound,  as  their  only  hope  of  success, 
to  keep  their  hearts  noble  and  pure." 

"  But  how  am  I  like  a  '  grail  knight  ?  '  " 

"  Miriamne  pursues  a  heavenly  cure  for  human  ills,  a 
something  she  cannot  see  nor  quite  explain." 

"  'Tis  true  and  wonderful." 

"The  'grail'  story  is  almost  as  old  as  man,  being 
shaped  out  of  other  most  ancient  pilgrim  quests.  All 
noble  hearts  yearn  for  a  healer  and  ideal." 

"  Perhaps  the  time  has  come  for  a  woman  crusade,  a 
new  order  of  grail  seekers?" 

"Indeed,  I  think  as  much  ;  and  Miriamne,  taking 
Mary  as  her  model,  may  be  the  very  one  to  proclaim  it." 


490  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"But  being  a  woman,  and  so  young,  I  might  be  ridi 
culed  as  an  enthusiast,  as  brazen,  perhaps,  or  worse,  if 
I  attempted  such  things." 

"  If  thou  didst  undertake  any  thing  truly  good,  thou 
wouldst  best  know  its  goodness  by  the  bitterness  of  its 
opposing.  The  cross  is  very  bright  on  one  side,  on  the 
other  it  casts  shadows.  Walking  toward  it  \ve  walk  in 
those  chastening  shadows.  But  when  we've  passed  the 
grave,  which  it  ever  guards,  there  is  light,  all  light — not 
before." 

"  Sometimes  I  think  I'm  a  very  womanish  woman 
and  not  the  stuff  of  which  the  heroine  can  be  made." 

"  To  be  a  woman  is  to  have  within  thee  a  wealth  of 
power.  To  be  queenly  is  to  do  in  queenly  spirit  the 
work  falling  to  thy  lot.  Behold  the  queenly  women 
of  the  patriarchs  !  Rebecca  watered  the  flocks,  Rachel 
was  a  shepherdess.  The  daughter  of  Jethro,  King  of 
Midian,  also  kept  the  flocks;  and  Tamar  baked  bread. 
The  Word  of  God  records  these  things,  methinks,  to 
show  in  what  a  queenly  way  a  queenly  woman  may 
perform  a  seemingly  unimportant  work.  Doing  hum 
ble  works  well,  they  had  their  honor  in  due  time. 
Think  of  our  Mary,  Mother  of  Jesus,  after  her  call, 
serving  humbly  as  a  good  housewife  to  a  carpenter." 

"  Oh,  if  I  could  only  catch  the  flavor  of  her  life  more 
fully  !  " 

"A  worthy  wish  !  Her  life  was  a  sermon  on  faith. 
Called  of  God  to  bring  forth  Immanuel,  she  accepted 
the  trust  with  joyful  humility,  leaving  the  miraculous 
performance  to  the  Promiser.  For  thirty  years,  from 
Bethlehem's  cradle  to  Bethabara,  where  her  Son  was 
owned  of  God,  she  bore  her  pains  and  toils,  facing  per 
secutions,  the  leers  and  slanderous  innuendoes  of  the 


The  Queen  and  the  Grail  Seekers.  491 

rabble,  all  without  faltering.  Only  wondrous  faith 
kept  her  gentle  young  heart  from  breaking!  I  think 
she  carried  the  cross  all  along  the  course  of  Christ's 
life — until  He  Himself  took  it.  She  wrought  out  her 
work  as  a  satellite  of  her  son,  and  yet  as  a  poem  most 
eloquent,  voicing  thoughts  without  which  some  of  His 
wondrous,  greater  life  would  lack  explanation." 

"  I  fain  would  be  like  her,  but  then  to  be  so  seems 
beyond  my  capacities." 

"  If  thou  cans-t  not  be  a  satellite  of  the  Sun  as  Mary, 
be  a  satellite  of  a  satellite.  Reflect  her,  and  it  will  be 
well,  since  she  reflected  Him.  'Tis  a  simple  lesson, 
but  profitable ;  learn  it ;  there  is  greatness  in  little 
things  ;  regarding  them  we  may  at  the  same  time  lay 
hold  of  that  that  is  great.  I'd  have  all  women  hero 
ines  by  teaching  them  what  heroism  is." 

"  Was  Mary  learned  ?  She  had  to  meet  some  grand 
company?" 

"  Wise,  as  thou  mayst  be  in  the  solid  culture  of 
God's  word." 

"  But  I  can  never  be  a  Mary,"  presently  the  maiden 
murmured. 

"  Thou  canst  be  thyself,  and  what  thou  canst.  A 
seraph  could  be  no  more.  God  needed  for  his  lofty 
purpose  but  one  like  the  Maiden  of  Nazareth,  ?nd  for 
thy  comfort  remember  Mary  could  not  have  been  the 
mother  of  Jesus  and  Miriamne  de  Griffin  of  Bozrah 
also.  She  had  her  mission,  thou  thine;  it  is  a  judg 
ment  of  God  to  attempt  to  say  that  each  in  her  station 
was  not  and  is  not  placed  in  the  way  most  excellent." 
Their  converse  ended  but  to  be  renewed.  At  fre 
quent  intervals  Miriamne  advised  with  her  guide 
upon  the  subject  uppermost  in  her  mind,  and  more  and 


492  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

more  became  endued  with  the  spirit  of  the  missionary, 
To  all  questionings  within  herself,  as  to  how  she  might 
compass  her  lofty  and  philanthropic  designs,  there  came 
but  one  answer,  "To  Jerusalem  !"  It  seemed  to  her 
that  there,  at  the  heart  of  Syrian  life,  she  might  obtain 
inspiration  and  wisdom,  as  well  as  the  widest  possible 
opportunity  of  applying  these  for  others.  To  her  to 
believe  was  to  act,  and  so  she  soon  had  completed  all 
her  arrangements  to  join  a  band  of  pilgrims  passing 
by  way  of  Bozrah  toward  the  great  city.  The  parting 
was  painful  to  mother  and  daughter,  and  unlike  any 
they  had  experienced  before.  The  daughter  felt  a  mis 
giving.  Her  mother  was  aged.  The  tensions  of  trial 
and  responsibility  being  removed  so  largely  from  the 
life  of  the  latter  by  recent  events,  left  her  spiritless. 
Perhaps  it  would  be  more  accurate  to  say  that  in  the 
days  of  excitement  and  conflict  she  exerted  herself 
beyond  her  ability  ;  now,  when  the  motive  was  gone, 
nature  proclaimed  its  premature  exhaustion.  Miriamne 
was  convinced  that  she  would  be  motherless  ere  long, 
and  was  haunted  by  misgivings  as  to  ever  again  seeing 
her  if  she  left  Bozrah.  Rizpah  herself,  though  she 
feared  that  the  present  separation  and  farewell  were  to 
be  final,  urged  her  child  tenderly,  earnestly,  to  go  for 
ward  as  conscience  dictated.  The  parting  between 
these  two  women  was  secret,  they  two  being  alone. 
It  was  affectionate  and  most  tender,  and  yet  cheered 
by  the  mutual  hope  both  expressed  of  an  eternal  reun 
ion  after  death.  The  eventful  day  and  the  supreme 
moment  came  to  find  Miriamne  and  her  mother  nerved 
for  the  parting.  That  was  soon  over,  and  the  maiden 
moved  out  of  the  old  stone  home  toward  the  white 
camel  already  caparisoned  for  her  i^e.  Father  Adol- 


The  Queen  and  the  Grail  Seekers.  493 

phus  and  Sir  Charleroy  awaited  her  by  its  side,  having 
repeated,  over  and  over,  to  the  maiden's  chosen  attend 
ant  a  score  of  directions,  and  having  in  the  fussiness  of 
nervousness  again  and  again  examined  bridle  and  girt 
and  hamper.  The  maiden,  glancing  after  the  caravan 
of  pilgrims  which  was  to  be  her  convoy,  now  slowly 
passing  out  of  the  city,  turned  toward  her  father  to  say 
the  last  words  of  parting.  She  began  :  "And  now, 
dear  father."  Her  voice,  tremulous  to  begin  with, 
broke  down. 

"  There,  Miriamne,"  interrupted  the  knight,  "wait, 
we'll  accompany  thee  a  little  distance."  The  three 
moved  out  of  the  city  together,  the  attendant  riding 
on  before  them.  They  were  all  too  sorrowful  to  speak 
cheerfully,  so  each  said  nothing.  On  the  crest  of  a 
hillock  the  old  priest  paused  ;  simultaneously  the  father 
and  daughter  did  likewise.  "  I'm  too  weary  to  go 
further,"  spoke  the  priest.  Miriamne's  eyes  filled 
with  tears,  and  Sir  Charleroy,  drawing  close  to  the 
maiden,  turned  his  eyes  away.  He  stood  in  silence 
gazing  afar,  but  at  nothing.  Each  at  the  last  seemed 
to  dread  to  be  the  first  to  speak  that  one  word  so 
inexpressibly  sad  when  believed  to  be  about  to  be 
spoken  as  a  last  "  farewell."  The  silence  became 
oppressive,  and  then  Father  Adolphus  murmured,  "  I 
suppose  we  must  bid  thee  adieu-,  now."  Sir  Charleroy 
shuddered  and  drew  his  turban  down  over  his  eyes. 

Just  then  all  the  child  and  all  the  woman  in  Miri 
amne's  nature  was  awakened.  Her  feelings  well  nigh 
over-mastered  her,  and  she  exclaimed  :  "  Oh,  Bozrah, 
how  can  I  leave  thee  and  thy  dear  ones!"  Bozrah  to 
her  meant  home  ;  for  a  moment  her  world  seemed  cen 
tred  there.  The  old  priest,  ever  adroit  in  ministering 


494  The  Qttccn  of  the  House  of  David. 

comfort,  sought  to  divert  the  thoughts  of  those  about 
him  from  needless  pain,  and  so  shading  his  eyes  looked 
steadily  eastward  for  a  few  moments.  Then  he  ques 
tioned  :  "  Daughter,  canst  thou  see  Salchad,  at  the 
Crater's  Mouth.  I  can  not  see  it  for  my  sight  faileth  ; 
but  I  know  'tis  yonder."  Miriamne  followed  the 
direction  of  the  priest's  pointing  hand,  though  she 
knew  full  well  without  directing,  where  the  grim  fort 
ress  city  lay.  Habit  had  made  it  natural  to  follow  the 
guidance  of  that  old,  trembling  hand.  Some  way,  it 
helped  her;  she  seemed  better  to  understand  what  she 
already  partly  knew,  when  it  directed. 

"Yes,  I  see  it.  It  is  there;  changeless  and  dreary  as 
ever.  But  why  this  question  ?  " 

"  Dost  thou  observe  how  the  prospect  fades  away 
south  of  it,  until  it  reaches  the  spreading  desert?" 

"Yes,  I  perceive  !  " 

"  Turn  to  the  north,  what  object  is  most  striking  ?  " 

"  Oh,  Hermon  !  '  The  old-man  mountain  ; '  the  sun 
makes  its  snowy-top  appear  to-day  very  like  the  white 
on  an  old  man's  head  and  chin." 

Sir  Charleroy's  attention  was  recalled  from  his  con 
templation  of  the  pain  of  parting  for  an  instant,  and  he 
questioned  : 

"  Canst  thou  see  aught  of  the  ruins  of  the  '  Temple 
of  the  Sun,'  said  to  be  at  Hermon's  crest  ?  " 

But  before  an  answer  could  be  given  to  the  knight's 
question,  Father  Adolphus  exclaimed  :  "  Daughter, 
look  back  again  to  ruined  Salchad  !  Beyond  its  'war 
tower  of  giants,'  there  lies  only  the  desert.  Now  turn 
thy  back  on  it  all  forever,  without  repinings.  Leave 
the  desert  and  the  war  tower  of  the  giants  to  the  wan 
dering  Bedouin." 


The  Queen  and  the  Grail  Seekers.  495 

"And  then  what?" 

"  Turn  thy  face  toward  Jerusalem,  thy  back  to  the 
drear  desert — 

The  maiden  almost  involuntarily  complied,  and  the 
priest  continued  : 

"  Go  forward  with  Hermon  on  thy  right.  Remem 
ber  that  the  temple  of  the  Fire  Worshipers  is  over 
turned,  its  altars  cold  ;  but  more  remember  that  on 
Hermon  humanity  was  transfigured  in  answer  to 
prayer." 

"And  so  my  shepherd  and  guide  would  promise  me 
blessing  and  bid  me  God  speed  ?  "  quoth  the  maiden. 

"  Thou  read'st  my  heart,  daughter." 

"  The  same  true  heart ;  it  never  gets  old  or  weary  of 
cheering." 

"  I'm  made  grateful  and  happy,  daughter,  by  thy 
words.  He  that  saith,  '  Let  not  your  hearts  be  troubled  !  ' 
and  '  comfort  ye,  comfort  ye  my  people]  is  my  leader. 
For  cheering,  I  was  called." 

"  How  noble  such  a  call  seems  to  me,  now." 

"  Yea  ;  daughter,  if  one  can  not  be  as  the  stars  that 
fought  in  their  course  for  Sisera,  he  may  be  as  a  sum 
mer  evening's  breeze,  in  cooling  pain's  fevers,  and  in 
drying  the  tears  from  cheeks  that  blush  through  the 
rains  of  weeping  times." 

Gently,  firmly  she  guided  her  camel  from  the  hillock, 
on  which  it  was  feeding,  toward  the  highway,  along 
which  the  caravan  was  departing.  "  We  must  be  going 
now." 

At  her  words,  Sir  Charleroy  and  the  old  Sacrist  each 
caught  one  of  her  hands. 

"  Oh,  my  fathers  ! "  was  her  pitying  but  not  pitiable 
exclamation.  Sir  Charleroy,  standing  on  the  hillock 


496  The  Queen  of  tJie  House  of  David. 

by  the  camel,  on  which  his  daughter  was  mountedv 
drew  the  hand  he  held  close  to  his  heart,  then  his  arm 
tenderly  encircled  its  owner.  The  maiden's  head 
rested  upon  the  breast  that  had  often  borne  her  since 
babyhood,  her  lips  met  in  unfeigned  tenderness  those 
of  the  man  who  not  only  loved  her  as  a  daughter,  but 
as  his  good  angel,  almost  savior.  .It  was  a  scene  for 
a  painter  ;  the  past  and  the  present,  sunset  and  morn- 
ing;  the  one  looking  back  in  a  confessed  ineffective 
ness  of  a  life  nearly  spent,  in  contrast  with  a  fresh, 
young,  hopeful  life,  before  which  lay  a  world  to  be 
conquered.  Miriamne,  the  called  leader  in  a  new 
crusade  for  women,  for  humanity,  was  bidding  farewell 
to  the  ruins  of  giant  land,  and  to  a  representative  of 
the  last  of  the  sworded-crusaders. 

Her  staff  fell  on  the  side  of  the  beast  that  bore  her 
and  it  moved  away  quickly  after  the  departing  troop. 

The  parting  was  over,  and  yet  the  two  old  men 
silently  lingered  at  the  place  of  the  farewell.  Once  or 
twice  the  maiden  looked  back  to  them,  as  she  was 
borne  forward,  to  wave  an  adieu.  The  lone  watchers 
followed  her  with  their  eyes,  until  her  white  camel  ap 
peared  but  a  speck  moving  along  at  the  skirt  of  a  column 
of  dust.  The  eyes  of  the  watchers  dimmed  by  years, 
now  supplemented  by  tears,  presently  could  discern  only 
dust.  She  was  buried  from  their  view  forever.  Then 
they  silently  returned  to  the  city,  each  busy  with  his 
own  thoughts.  Thereafter  there  was  a  heavy  loneliness 
on  all  hearts  in  that  Bozrah  circle.  The  priest  moved 
about  his  chapel,  and  the  parents  about  their  home  as 
though  an  angel  of  light  had  gone  from  their  midst,  or 
as  if  the  angel  of  death  had  come  among  them. 

"  It  seems  strange  like,"  said  the  Sacrist's  sister,  "  to 


The  Queen  and  the  Grail  Seekers.  497 

let  a  girl  go  away  to  that  far-off  city,  among  strangers, 
and  about  such  meaningless  purposes." 

"  Never  mind ;  never  mind,  sister,  God's  lambs  are 
ever  safe.  Her  mission  is  clear  to  her,  at  least,  and 
she'll  not  be  among  strangers.  The  knights  who  secretly 
abide  in  the  city  of  God  have  a  charge  concerning  her 
in  letters  I've  sent  them.  As  well,  Cornelius,  her  be 
trothed,  is  there.  Pure  love  will  be  her  wall  of  fire/' 
Thus  ended  all  arguments  and  misgivings. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 
THE  HOSPITALER'S  ORATION. 

"  I  do  not  say  that  a  social  cyclone  is  impending ;  oui  tnt 
of  the  times  certainly  admonish  us  that  if  Christianity  is  <o  avert  a 
revolution  of  the  most  gigantic  proportions,  and  the  most  ruinous 
results,  we  have  not  an  hour  to  lose  in  assuring  the  restless  masses 
that  they  have  no  better  friends  than  are  the  professed  disciples 
•of  Him  whose  glory  it  was  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor,  and  to 
lift  up  their  crushing  burdens."— REV.  DR.  A.  J.  F.  BEHREND'S 
'  Socialism  and  Christianity." 

"  My  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord.     *     *     *     He  hath  put  down 
princes  from  their  thrones,  and  exalted  them  of  low  degree. "- 
MARY. 

HE  daughter  of  Sir  Charleroy  found  a  home 
and  a  mother  with  Dorothea  Woelfkin,  the 
widowed  parent  of  her  affianced.  What 
manner  of  woman  the  latter  was  may  be 
readily  inferred  from  the  character  of  her  beloved  and 
only  son,  Cornelius.  It  sufTiceth  to  say,  mother  and 
son  were  in  all  things  wonderfully  alike. 

"  Miriamne,  I've  called  to  ask,  if  we  get  flic  consent 
of  my  mother,  that  you  attend  a  conclave  of  knights,  to 
be  secretly  held,  after  Moslem  prayers  this  evening." 
"Where?" 

"At  the  house  of  the  Christian   sister,  aged   Phebe: 
just  by  the  second  wall  of  the  city." 
"  And  why  do  they  meet  ?  " 
"An    eloquent  Hospitaler,  lately    returned   from   a 


The  Hospitaler  s  Oration.  499 

long  mission,  is  to  address  the  companions  and  their 
friends." 

"A  Hospitaler;  what's  his  name?" 

"  Ah,  there  it  is  ;  the  question  all  ask,  and  none  can 
answer  !  He  has  given  full  tokens  of  his  right  to  con 
fidence,  but  declines,  for  reasons  which  he  says  are  most 
pious,  to  reveal  himself  further  than  that  he  is  a  Knight 
Hospitaler  of  Rhodes." 

"  Rhodes?  Is  he  very  tall,  of  piercing  eyes,  his  hair 
long  and  jet,  with  streaks  of  gray?  " 

"  Even  so." 

"  My  father  knew  such  a  man,  whom  he  called  '  silver- 
tongued.'  " 

"This  man  is  as  eloquent  as  Apollos." 

"  We  met  such  an  one,  and  were  with  him  for  a  time. 
We  left  him  here,  on  our  journey  from  Acre  to 
Bozrah." 

"  Did  you  penetrate  his  secret?" 

"I  did  not,  though  my  father  once  said  to  him 
'  Grail.'  After  that  he  kept  aloof  from  us." 

"A  proof  it  must  be  as  I've  suspected  ;  the  Hospitaler 
is  one  of  the  new  Grail-Knights!  "  exclaimed  Cornelius. 

"And  he  is  here?  I  must  hear  him  again.  The 
words  he  spoke  to  me  in  Gethsemane  have  followed 
me  night  and  day  since.  He  made  the  journey  of  Mary 
and  Christ,  by  way  of  Kedron,  to  the  cross,  seem  like  a 
present  reality ;  a  path  typical  of  the  one  before 
every  child  of  God.  I  saw  it  all  then,  but  have  been 
unable  since  to  find  it.  Oh,  I  burn  with  desire  to  have 
the  '  silver-tongued  '  guide  me  to  that  pathway  again.  " 

At  the  appointed  time  the  twain  sought  the  house 
of  Christian  Phebe,  and  found  it  wrapped  in  gloom  ;  the 
only  sign  of  life  without  being  a  man  garbed  as  a  camel 


500  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

driver,  standing  guard  at  the  door.  Cornelius  whispered 
to  Miriamne,  "  He's  a  knight-^-the  warden."  The  young 
man  gave  the  watchman  a  secret  signal ;  the  latter  com 
municated  through  a  little  gated  window,  with  those 
within,  and  quickly  the  door  swung  open,  admitting 
Woelfkin  and  his  companion.  Within  were  light  and 
cheerfulness  contrasting  with  the  gloom  without.  A 
goodly  company  was  already  assembled,  chiefly  made 
up  of  Crusaders,  but  now  unharnessed.  The  faces  of 
the  pilgrim  soldiers  betokened  a  change  within.  They 
betokened  spirits  subdued,  but  not  crushed  ;  hearts  hav 
ing  surrendered  ambition  for  devastating  conquest,  to 
welcome  a  finer  hope.  There  were  few  things  about 
the  place  suggestive  of  war,  and  many  suggestive  of 
peace.  At  one  end  of  the  room  stood  a  desk,  in  shape 
much  like  an  altar.  It  was  draped  with  a  Templar 
banner,  and  to  its  side  were  fastened  a  sword,  bent  in 
the  shape  of  a  sickle,  and  two  spears  forming  a  cross, 
supporting  a  cup;  the  latter  was  in  form  the  same  as 
the  cup  of  the  Passion. 

"There  is  something  about  this  place  that  recalls  the 
chapel  of  the  Palestineans,  in  London,  Cornelius." 

"  Well,  you  and  I  were  there  ;  now  we  are  here.  In 
that  the  two  places  have  likeness,"  pleasantly  responded 
the  maiden's  escort. 

Miriamne's  eyes  wandered  from  object  to  object,  as 
if  seeking  proof  of  her  assertion,  and  her  companion 
followed  her  gaze  with  a  glance  about  the  place,  which 
finally  rested,  as  his  glances  were  wont,  on  the  eyes  of 
Miriamne. 

"Oh,  the  devoutness,  the  peace,  the  fellowship!" 
she  exclaimed. 

Just  then  there  was  a  movement  ;  a  number  of  the 


The  Hospitaler  s  Oration.  501 

men  present  arose  ;  a  hailing  sign,  significant  to  the 
initiated,  was  given  by  some,  while  simultaneously  a 
slight  applause  passed  around  the  room  : 

"  Tis  he,"  whispered  Miriamne. 

"Your  Hospitaler?" 

"Yes." 

The  knights  all  stood  and  sang  in  subdued  voices,  a 
psalm  of  hope.  "  The  movement  of  the  melody  suggests 
pilgrims  climbing  a  hill."  At  least,  so  the  maiden  said 
its  movement  seemed  to  her. 

When  the  psalm  was  finished,  the  knights  resumed 
their  seats  and  the  Hospitaler,  without  preliminary, 
at  once  addressed  them : 

"  Knights  of  Christ,  few  and  often  in  hiding,  I  would 
remind  ye  that  no  plan  of  God  is  futile,  and  that  His 
cause  has  no  backward  movement. 

"  A  dream  of  conquest,  restoration  and  glory  came 
over  all  followers  of  the  cross.  The  dream  had 
within  it  a  hope  of  a  holy  land  in  Christian  possession, 
and  all  the  children  of  earth  getting  from  it  the  story 
of  the  true  faith.  Then  there  was  to  come,  we  be 
lieved,  the  golden  age,  in  which  all  mankind  in  sweet 
charity's  glorious  fellowship  should  go  forward. 

"  Nature,  man's  mother,  prays  in  a  million  mournful 
voices  for  that  golden  day  ;  and  God,  man's  eternal  and 
loving  Father,  works  by  countless  invincible  agencies  to 
cause  its  full  dawning.  We  Crusaders  gave  our  lives 
by  thousands  for  our  faith,  but  we  seemed  to  have  done 
little  beside  change  the  name  of  this  land  from  Philis 
tine  to  Palestine.  One,  to  be  sure,  is  softer  to  the  ear 
than  the  other,  but  to  the  heart  both  names  bring  the 
same  miserable  thoughts.  Yet  there  was  more  than 
this  attained.  Ye  remember  how  our  cavalier  soldiers 


5O2  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

expressed  their  chivalric  impulses  in  honoring  that 
queen  of  women,  Our  Lady  ?  Like  the  rising  of  sun  at 
midnight,  came  the  conviction  to  Christian  Europe 
when  at  its  worst,  socially,  that  reform  must  begin  by 
purifying  the  homes  of  the  people,  by  exalting  all  home 
life.  To  do  this,  the  mothers  who  bare  and  nurture 
the  fruits  of  the  home,  as  well  as  making  them  for  weal 
or  for  woe  what  they  are,  must  needs  be  exalted  by 
right  as  well  as  by  fitness  to  their  queenship.  Every 
knight's  praise  of  Mary  was  an  avowal  of  faith  ;  his 
faith  that  woman  could  be,  should  be,  what  his  imagi 
nation  pictured  Mary  to  have  been. 

"  The  knightly  Christians  were  among  the  first  to  be 
moved  by  the  belief  that  that  was  a  monstrous  blight, 
a  heresy  toward  God  and  nature  which  regarded  the 
finer  sex  as  necessities  or  luxuries.  Impressed  by  rev 
erence  for  Mary,  the  banded  soldiers  of  the  cross  be 
gan  to  feel  their  mission  to  be  not  only  the  recovery  of 
the  dead,  but  also  of  the  living  from  infidel  dominion  ; 
hence,  each  Crusade  banner  came  as  a  sunburst  to 
those,  who,  under  the  spell  of  gross  passion,  were  en 
slaving  their  natural  co-partners. 

"Men,  while  the  harem  ideal  stands,  while  woman  is 
impotent  because  uncrowned,  our  lofty  hopes  can  not 
bear  fruit  nor  will  our  labors  be  ended  ! " 

The  speaker  was  interrupted  by  a  murmur  of  ap 
plause  that  ran  around  the  circle  of  auditors. 

Miriamne  glowed  with  delight,  and  raised  her  hand 
impressively  and  nodded  toward  Cornelius.  He  only 
saw  the  motion  and  easily  interpreted  it  as  meaning, 
"There,  that's  what  I  felt,  but  could  not  express/' 

The  speaker  continued  :  "  God  said  it  is  not  good 
that  the  man  should  be  alone:  time  that  resolves  all 


The  Hospitaler  s  Oration.  503 

mysteries,  and  experience  which  transmutes  to  gold  all 
the  rubbish  of  guess  and  experiment,  has  irrevocably 
declared  that  man  cannot  be  to  his  fullness,  in  a  state 
of  solitary  grandeur.  He  and  the  woman  go  up  or 
down  together;  and,  whether  a  seraph  or  a  serpent 
leads  her,  the  man  by  inclination  or  by  force  is  sure  to 
follow  her  footsteps. 

"  We  Crusaders  had  a  glimpse  of  the  truth,  but  lost  it 
to  follow  an  ignis  fatuus.  Yet,  in  this  land,  we  con 
fronted  the  harem  with  the  home  ruled  by  one  queenly 
wife  and  mother.  The  world,  beholding  the  contrast 
begins  to  believe,  as  never  before,  in  the  supremacy, 
over  all  institutions,  of  that  one  where,  under  Eden's 
covenant  charters,  purity  and  mother-love  mold  the 
race  in  the  name  of  sole  and  pacient  love.  The  Saracens 
paraded  their  houris,  their  concubines,  and  their  slaves 
as  the  proofs  of  their  prowess;  but  the  Christians 
challenged  the  array  by  the  quality  of  their  possessions, 
commencing  with  their  women  of  God's  blood  royal, 
and  ascending  to  each  revered  personage,  from  love's 
companions,  to  Mary,  to  Jesus.  He  that  nobly  deals 
with  the  one  by  his  side  will  find  her  putting  on  a 
glory  that  will  brighten  the  luster  of  his  kingliness, 
and  bringing  forth  to  him  those  having  the  power  to 
grasp  and  mold  the  destinies  of  coming  years.  Lis 
teners,  mark  me ;  there  is  a  lesson  profound  in  the 
record  of  the  strugglings  with  each  other  of  Rebecca's 
twins  before  their  birth.  Indeed,  each  being  begins 
his  career  within  the  life  that  gives  him  life. 
•  "  Who  will  say,  with  assurance,  that  all  of  life  lies 
within  the  reach  of  any  man  of  himself?  Nay,  be  it 
said,  rather,  that  she  who  first  carries,  then  leads,  then 
inspires,  as  she  only  can,  her  sons  and  daughters,  is  the 


504  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

one  who  lays  her  gentle  hands,  with  resistless  povve:, 
upon  the  keys  of  all  futures.  It  is  the  mother  who 
impresses  the  prophecy  of  what  is  to  be  on  the  heart 
of  the  infant,  before  the  event  finds  place  upon  the 
deathless  page  which  records  deeds  done." 

Again  applause  interrupted. 

The  Hospitaler  continued,  as  attention  was  given 
anew  : 

"  That  profoundest  of  ancient  teachers,  Plato,  enun 
ciated  at  least  a  half-truth  or  truth's  shadow,  in  his  doc 
trine  of  the  preexistence  of  souls,  though,  as  our  church 
understands  it,  it  pronounces  the  teaching  ^heretical. 
Be  that  as  it  may,  this  much  assuredly  is  true  :  if  each 
man  has  not  been  on  earth  before,  his  present  existence 
being  the  repetition  of  a  prior  one,  his  intuitions,  vague 
recollections  out  of  a  past  forgotten  in  a  former  death, 
surely  there  is  none  who  is  not  the  fruit  of  his  parents. 
He  is  largely  what  they  made  him,  and  of  the  twain 
that  beget,  I  affirm  that  the  mother  wields  the  ruling 
influence  in  the  life  and  character  of  the  begotten.  I 
believe  men  perpetuate  their  worst  traits  through  their 
posterity,  easily  and  more  persistently  than  do  women 
theirs.  In  the  giant  of  the  human  pair  brawn  and  mus 
cle  predominate,  and  these,  if  depraved,  feed  every  evil 
passion,  giving  each  power  to  run  with  virulence  from 
sire  to  son.  The  woman,  formed  by  finer  conceptions 
to  be  an  angel,  may  fall  to  sinning  and  let  weakness 
take  the  place  of  gentleness.  So  be  it ;  yet  even  then 
her  weaknesses  and  her  sinnings,  constantly  repugnant 
to  her  nature  as  God  framed  it,  antagonistic  to  the  re 
finement  that  is  native,  ebb  ?nd  die  along  the  shores  of 
her  being's  course.  She  more  naturally  and  more 
forcefully  transmits  her  good  than  she  does  her  evil,  as 


The  Hospitaler  s  Oration.  505 

a  general  rule.  They  have  in  fable-lore  a  tradition  that 
the  mythical  goddess  of  love,  Venus,  wore  a  resplen 
dent  girdle,  the  sight  of  which  made  every  beholder 
love  the  wearer.  Let  me  give  present  force  to  the 
legend  by  affirming  that  every  true  woman,  girded 
with  the  virtues  that  it  is  her  duty  and  her  privilege  to 
wear,  is  an  object,  among  all  earthly  beings,  superla 
tively,  entrancingly  beautiful — next  after  Christ,  God's 
best  gift  to  man." 

Cornelius  now  plucked  the  corner  of  Miriamne's 
pepulum.  It  was  a  lover's  restless,  questioning  act. 
Being  a  man,  trained  as  men,  he  was  naturally  inclined 
to  doubt  the  speaker  and  to  join  in  secret  ridicule,  that 
substitute  for  gainsaying  when  arguments  are  utterly 
lacking ;  but  being  a  lover,  he  was  so  far  doubtful  as  to 
his  old  creeds  concerning  women,  as  to  be  ready  to  be 
led.  Miriamne  turned  toward  her  lover  with  a  smile 
lightened  by  eyes  which  glowed.  Hers  was  not  the 
smile  of  a  girl  flatly  complacent  in  an  effort  to  be  very 
agreeable.  She  believed  ;  the  love  she  had  for  the  man 
at  her  side  was  consecrated  first  to  truth.  Her  will 
was  that  of  a  blade  of  steel — yielding,  serviceable  ;  but 
still  elastic  or  firm,  as  need  be  and  as  its  highest  pur 
poses  required.  She  smiled,  but  the  smile  mounting 
to  her  brightening  eyes,  left  her  fine  forehead,  a  very 
temple  of  thought,  all  placid.  The  smile  and  the 
glance  routed  all  doubts  from  the  young  man's  mind. 
She  to  him  was  a  Venus,  and  more,  a  saint.  She  wore 
the  invisible  girdle  of  which  the  knight  had  spoken, 
and  the  youth  felt  its  winning  power.  Another  proof 
that  the  best  advocate  of  a  woman  is  a  woman  ;  and  of 
her  worth,  the  best  argument  an  example. 

The  orator  knight  proceeded  without  pause : 


506  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  I  know  full  well  that  some  sneer  and  carp  on  wo 
man's  weakness,  having  recourse  to  Eden  for  argument. 
To  these  I  reply :  The  enemy  assailed  not  the  weaker, 
but  the  stronger  first,  and  exhibited  masterly  general 
ship  in  seeking  to  overcome  the  citadel  that  would  in 
sure  the  greatest  loss,  the  most  complete  victory.  And 
note  how  long  and  arduous  his  siege  of  Eve  ;  then  re 
member  how  quickly  Adam  fell.  Crush  the  woman's 
heart,  ruin  her  faith,  degrade  her  body,  and  then,  with 
this  work  completed,  we  are  ready  to  ring  down  the 
curtain  over  the  end  of  the  tragedy  of  a  wrecked  world. 
When  men  hold  women  to  their  hearts,  their  manhood 
is  enlarged  and  their  queens  become  their  angels,  bear 
ing  a  '  grail '  that  catches  for  both  the  choice  things  of 
heaven.  But  when  a  man  turns  his  strength  against  a 
woman,  she  ceases  to  be  his  charming,  alluring  help 
mate.  He  has  brawn,  and  she,  not  having  that,  puts 
on  that  cunning  which  is  the  natural  arm  of  the  weaker. 
When  the  honey-suckle  turns  to  poison-ivy,  or  the  dove 
to  a  fox,  then  weep ;  but  when  woman  lays  aside  the 
entrancings  of  her  moral  beauty  to  enter  a  desperate 
strife  with  armed  cunning,  let  men  go  mad  over  their 
queens  become  witches.  I  tell  you,  hearers,  when  men 
become  demons  women  will  give  themselves  to  sorcery. 
I  speak  not  of  spiritual  possession,  but  of  human  de 
flowering.  Shall  our  queens  be  uncrowned,  disrobed, 
degraded  ?  No,  no,  Satan  alone  could  say  'yea.' 

When  the  burst  of  applause  that  had  interrupted 
him  subsided,  the  Hospitaler  continued: 

"  We  knights  revere  the  sign  of  the  cross  because  the 
world's  Savior  died  thereon  ;  it  will  be  well  for  us  to 
revere  womankind  because  it  was  given  to  woman,  not 
to  man,  to  cooperate  with  God  in  bringing  that  Savior 


The  Hospitaler's  Oration.  5°7 

LO  the  world.  A  woman  bore  him  with  crucial  pains, 
as  each  of  us  was  borne,  before  He  bore  the  cross. 
And  reverently  I  say  it,  companions,  woman's  cross  is 
ever  set,  and  all  the  earth  is  her  Calvary.  I  can  not 
but  see,  as  must  you  who  think,  that  all  this  pain  to  her 
has  in  God's  great  plan  some  vicarious  element,  some 
blessing  for  mankind.  We  Christians  pray  for  the 
second  coming  of  Jesus,  the  Jews  wait  and  weep  for 
the  dawn  of  a  day  of  salvation,  the  Mohammedans, 
like  hosts  of  the  Pagans,  in  every  clime,  are  longing 
for  some  golden  day  ;  better  than  the  present.  This 
universal  longing  is  a  prophecy  of  good  to  come.  I 
can  not  believe  that  the  All-Father  would  suffer  this 
universal  and  intuitive  longing  to  end  in  disappoint 
ment  and  mockery.  He  is  too  good  for  that.  By  this 
longing  I  see  standing  out,  less  dimly,  and  yet  dimly 
enough  to  be  by  many  unseen,  some  sublime,  prophetic 
hints.  Read  sacred  Writ.  Wherever  therein  you  dis 
cern  a  prophetic  character,  emblem  of  Christ,  fore 
runner  of  the  golden  age,  you  will  find  not  far  from 
him,  as  his  partner  and  help,  fittingly  a  woman  ! 

"  From  the  first  it  was  so.  Adam  the  first  appeared, 
and  a  woman  was  his  partner,  helpmate  and  more. 
He  fell.  A  way  of  recovery  was  provided  for  him,  but 
it  was  the  woman  who  was  given  to  bring  forth  the 
One  whose  heel  was  to  crush  the  head  of  the  author 
of  humanity's  great  catastrophe.  Then  came  the 
second  Adam — Immanuel.  At  his  advent  the  chief 
figure,  next  after  God  the  chief  instrument  in  His 
bringing  in,  by  His  side  along  the  years  in  all  helpful 
ministries,  a  woman,  Mary,  the  beautiful,  the  perfect, 
the  ideal  of  women. 

"  Again  and  again  we  have  puzzled  over  the  records, 


508  Tfc  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

wondering  why  Matthew  traced  the  genealogy  of  Jesus 
along  the  male  line  only,  through  David  and  Jacob 
to  Abraham  the  father  of  the  faithful,  and  that  Luke 
traced  that  genealogy  through  Mary  and  her  father, 
Heli.  But  there's  method  most  wise  in  the  records. 
Matthew  wrote  for  the  Jews,  Luke  for  the  Gentiles. 
The  hint  is  herein  given  that  when  the  Gentiles  are 
fully  gathered  in,  woman  will  be  recognized  in  the  ul 
timate  religion,  that  knows  neither  race  nor  sex.  As 
in  the  royal  line  which  gave  man  a  Savior,  as  in  a 
queenly  line  having  for  man,  society  and  home — the 
emblem  of  heaven  expressed  on  earth — blessing  and 
saving  powers." 

The  knight  closed  with  an  appeal  for  the  continu 
ance  of  the  revival  of  the  chivalrous  spirit  toward 
woman,  saying: 

"  It  matters  little  what  becomes  of  the  dust  of  the 
pious  dead  ;  the  past  is  secure,  and  Deity  guards  till 
the  resurrection  all  tombs  in  His  own  unfrustrated 
way,  but  it  matters  much  how  we  treat  the  living  ! 
That  is  a  puerile  piety  which  is  ready  to  die  to  defend 
from  foes  that  can  not  harm  inanimate  ashes  that 
appeal  for  no  favor,  while  suffering,  willingly,  living 
bodies  encompassing  bleeding  hearts,  to  continue  amid 
untold  agonies,  their  whole  existence  one  long  appeal 
for  succor  !  Christian  knights,  on  with  your  new  cru 
sade,  and  may  the  golden  age  come  grandly  in, its  fruits 
— love,  joy,  and  peace  in  every  clime,  to  every  race,  to 
every  man,  woman,  and  child  !  " 

The  speaker  sat  down  ;  there  was  a  moment  of  deep 
silence,  followed  by  an  outburst  of  approving  acclama 
tions. 

Then  ensued  a  hum  of  voices,  the  assembly  breaking 


The  Hospitaler  s  Oration.  509 

up  into  little  groups,  one  and  another  attempting  each 
to  prove  his  loyalty,  his  piety  or  his  good  sense  to  the 
man  next  to  him,  by  certifying  his  belief  in  the  knight's 
words. 

Miriamne,  half  unconscious  of  her  surroundings,  ex 
claimed  : 

"  Oh,  will  not  some  one  tell  me  how  to  begin  ?  " 

"Can  I  aid  my  Miriamne  ?  "  asked  her  lover. 

"I  don't  know;  perhaps.  But  that  Grail  Knight 
with  the  silver  tongue  sees,  in  his  soul,  what  I  would 
reach.  When  he  speaks  my  feet  take  wings.  I  can 
not  tell  you  what  or  how  it  all  is.  He  speaks  and  I 
see,  as  Moses  in  the  mount,  the  outline  of  the  taber 
nacle  of  God  that  is  to  be  with  men." 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 
MEMORIALS    AT    BOZRAH, 

"  I'm  footsore  and  very  weary, 

But  I  travel  to  meet  a  Friend  ; 
The  way  is  long  and  dreary, 

But  I  know  it  soon  must  end. 
He  is  traveling  swiftly  as  whirlwinds, 

And  though  I  creep  slowly  on, 
We  are  drawing  nearer  and  nearer, 

And  the  journey  is  almost  done. 
I  know  He  will  not  fail  me, 

So  I  count  every  hour  a  chime, 
Every  throb  of  my  heart's  beating 

That  tells  of  the  flight  of  TIME. 
I  will  not  fear  at  His  coming, 

Although  I  must  meet  Him  alone, 
He  will  look  in  my  eyes  so  gently 

And  take  my  hand  in  His  o\vn." 

]N  uneventful  year  passed  over  the  mission- 
ers,  but  it  was  followed  quickly  by  eventful 
times. 

Two  messages  came,  one  after  the  other, 
and  not  far  apart,  to  Jerusalem,  which  moved  all  the 
Christian  colony  at  the  latter  place,  but  especially  Cor 
nelius  and  his  consort.  The  first  was  from  Father 
Adolphus  and  as  follows : 

"  Your  parents,  Sir  Charleroy  and  Rizpah,  have  departed 
Bozrah.  They  went  out  together,  and  their  end  was  peace. 
They  compensated  themselves  for  the  needless  miseries 


Memorials  at  Bozrah.  511 

they  had  wrought  in  their  younger  days  by  keeping  out  of 
all  shadows  during  their  journey  after  their  reconciliation 
by  the  tomb  of  their  children,  even  until  sunset.  I  could 
not  summon  you,  for  they  passed  away  quickly,  only  a  few 
days  coming  between  their  goings." 

Shortly  after  the  foregoing,  came  the  other  message, 
and  that  accidentally,  for  the  link  between  Jerusalem 
and  Bozrah  being  broken  by  death,  there  was  none 
left  in  the  Giant  City  to  send  after  or  for  comforting  to 
the  missioners.  "Father  Adolphus  is  dead."  That 
was  the  report  brought  by  chance  to  the  Christians  at 
Zion.  Hundreds  in  Jerusalem  had  heard  of  him,  and 
hearing  of  his  death  sighed  mildly.  The  missioners 
were  his  mourners — really,  solely. 

Ere  long  Dorothea  left  Jerusalem  of  Syria  for  the 
New  Jerusalem,  and  this  event  not  only  brought  sorrow 
but  also  perplexity.  Miriamne  realized  that  she  could 
not  now  continue  in  the  house  of  her  betrothed,  simply 
as  his  betrothed,  even  if  it  were  possible  for  the  house 
hold  to  continue,  the  head  being  absent.  Whither 
should  she  go,  orphan  and  kinless  as  she  was?  Love 
protested  mightily  against  any  thought  of  going  far 
from  her  affianced,  and  then  she  felt  profound  pity  for 
the  man  who  mourned  and  felt  a  mother's  loss  deeply, 
as  did  Cornelius.  He  entreated  for  a  speedy  wedding, 
and  she,  seeing  then  no  alternative,  consented  thereto  ; 
but  as  she  assumed  love's  yoke,  she  believed  that  the 
ambition  of  her  life  was  frustrated.  She  was  not  dis 
consolate,  neither  was  she  tearless.  She  thought  she 
discerned  the  leadings  of  God  and  submitted  promptly, 
making  it  thenceforth  her  duty  cheerfully  to  engage  in 
the,  to  her,  seemingly  commonplace  works  of  a  mis 
sionary  pastor's  wife.  Her  husband  was  a  "  man  of 


5 1 2  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

the  people,"  and  found  acceptance  with  the  lowly.  He 
was  wont  to  call  himself  "a  priest  forever  after  the 
order  of  Melchisedec."  Said  he  anon  to  his  flock  :  "  Like 
that  mysterious  man  who  flits  across  your  sacred  his 
tories  am  I !  You  of  the  Jews,  self-elect,  as  God's  elect, 
though  disgrafted,  would  put  me,  intending  to  do  so  or 
not,  by  the  unknown  and  unheralded  Melchisedec. 
You  think  me,  without  father,  without  mother,  begin 
ning  of  days,  or  end  of  life,  because  you  do  not  find 
my  name  in  the  chronologies  of  your  high  families  nor 
myself  in  the  covenants  of  the  Hebrews.  You  Chris 
tians  doubt  my  authority  because  no  ghostly  ordaining 
hands  have  been  laid  upon  my  head.  But  I'm  the 
child  of  a  King,  and  a  towel,  such  as  my  Master  wore  as 
He  ministered,  is  robing  enough  for  me  !  "  Old  people, 
women  and  children,  gave  the  young  man  unquestion 
ing  love,  and  thus  was  well  indorsed  the  choiceness  of 
his  ministerings.  Miriamne  beheld  these  manifesta 
tions  with  secret  joy,  for  she  knew  that  through  the 
one  she  loved  she  was,  in  part,  expressing  her  own 
thoughts  and  sympathies.  Once  wed,  she  was  too 
honest,  too  tender-hearted,  too  noble  to  be  less  than  all 
that  wifehood  implied,  and  yet  she  felt  at  times  as  if 
the  ambitions  and  hopes  of  her  life,  nursed  through 
many  years,  had  not  been  compassed.  She  tried  to 
settle  down  and  humbly  do  the  work  of  a  missionary's 
helpmate,  and  to  overcome,  through  Divine  grace,  the 
ambition  to  do  seemingly  grander  things  than  she  was 
doing.  Sometimes,  smiling  through  tears,  she  would 
say  to  her  husband  as  he  sought  to  satisfy  her  heart's 
yearnings  with  mention  of  the  good  work  they  were 
doing : 

"Well,  a  man  has  come  between  me  and   the  'grail.' 


Memorials  at  Bozrah.  5 1 3 

I'm  following  him,  may  he  follow  it,  and  God  guide 
both." 

After  a  time  Cornelius  and  Miriamne  made  a  pil 
grimage  to  Bozrah,  drawn  thither  by  a  desire  common 
to  both  to  honor  their  loved  ones  departed.  They 
found  the  Giant  City  all  pervaded  by  the  spirit  of  the 
moribund  past.  Even  the  Christian  church,  once  a 
light,  a  joy  and  a  promise  of  a  better  day,  had  fallen 
into  decline  at  Bozrah.  The  edifice  had  become  di 
lapidated,  the  congregation  was  depleted. 

In  name,  Father  Adolphus  had  a  successor,  younger, 
more  learned,  more  eloquent  in  his  way,  than  the 
saintly  man  now  sleeping.  But  the  infidels,  the  very 
ones  who  were  wont  to  confess  that  they  could  not,  if 
they  would,  make  headway  against  the  old  priest's  godly 
life,  now  laughed  to  scorn  the  stately  and  scholarly 
arguments  of  the  new  leader.  The  converts  under  the 
new  regime  were  few,  the  common  people  did  not  from 
him  hear  the  word  gladly;  and  the  regular  congrega 
tion  was  rent  by  schisms. 

One  chapel  service  sufficed  both  Miriamne  and  Cor 
nelius.  They  found  in  it  nothing  but  cold  formality 
and  the  memory  of  what  had  been,  but  was  now  no 
more. 

"  Oh,  Cornelius,"  Miriamne  cried,  "  reverently  I  say 
it,  but  is  it  not  strange  that  our  faith  edges  its  way 
over  the  world  so  slowly,  with  such  heralds  ?  " 

"  Leastwise,  you  may  say,  you  do  not  see  your 
'Grail'  here,  Miriamne?" 

"Oh,  now,  I  realize  the  worth  of  Von  Gombard  as  1 
never  did  before." 

"Are  you  not  sorrowed  at  his  absence,  Miriamne?" 

"  Sorrowed  !     Truly  not ;  but  unspeakably  glad  that 


514  The  Queen  of  the  riousc  of  David. 

he  walks  with  the  sons  of  God  ;  a  very  king,  I  know, 
amid  the  greatest.  Oh,  how  sad  I'd  be  to  see  the  poor, 
dear,  tired  old  man  with  his  overfull  heart  and  trem 
bling  limbs  now  going  about  in  painful  ministries  here  ! 
God  was  twice  good  ;  in  leaving  him  so  long,  then  in 
taking  him.  Ah,  if  there  were  more  like  that  old  saint, 
those  that  there  are  would  not  need  to  tarry  till  their 
twilight." 

"  Shall  we  prolong  our  stay  ?  " 

"  No  !  I've  listened  long  enough  to  the  lull  of  eter 
nity  here.  Bozrah's  past  has  taught  me  its  all.  I'm 
ready  to  go  home." 

"Home!  When,  to-morrow?"  ardently  questioned 
Cornelius,  anxious  himself  to  depart  the  Giant  City. 

"  After  to-morrow;  the  coming  day,  at  my  instance. 
the  memorial  of  my  parents  is  to  be  set  up." 

The  following  morning,  just  before  sunrise,  the  hus 
band  and  wife  repaired  to  the  tomb  of  their  loved 
ones,  to  witness,  by  pre-arrangement,  the  unveiling  of 
a  memorial.  It  consisted  of  two  figures  carved  from 
whitest  marble  ;  a  woman's  form  with  a  face  expressive 
of  tenderness  and  beauty,  marked  with  deepest  grief, 
but  not  with  hopelessness.  Across  her  lap  there  lay 
the  form  of  a  young  man,  the  rigors  of  death  plainly 
marked  on  his  face  and  limbs.  There  was  no  mistaking 
the  representation,  and  Cornelius  quickly  exclaimed  : 

"  I  know  the  one  that  sits  thus  holding  that  crucified 
body  !  'Tis  real  !  Impressive  !  Awful  !  " 

"  It  is  fitting,  think  you  ?  " 

"  I'm  too  much  moved  to  judge,  perhaps  ;  though  I 
do  wonder  that  you  have  not  had  carved  upon  the  ped 
estal  the  names  of  your  dead,  or  some  explanation." 

"Names?     What    matter,    to  the  stranger  passing, 


Memorials  at  Bozrah.  5  *  !> 

who  lie  beneath  the  stone  ?  As  for  the  meaning,  let 
those  who  come  and  go  question  till  it  appear." 

"  I'm  the  first  questioner,  Miriamne.  The  applica 
tion  ?  " 

"  Remember  that  my  mother,  in  her  almost  solitary 
grief,  held  her  dead  children  for  a  time  against  her  bro 
ken  heart,  but  it  was  a  heart  filled  with  a  mother-love 
which  never  faltered.  There  is  nothing  in  love  sur 
passing  such  on  earth.  Then  at  last,  when  her  life 
work  was  done,  her  cup  full,  my  mother,  as  her  final 
consolation,  held  to  her  heart  the  Son  whose  death 
gives  life,  as  yon  Madonna  holds  the  Christ.  " 

•'  I  bow  to  Miriamne's  judgment ;  the  creation  is 
appropriate;  Glorious  Madonna  ! 

"  I  have  a  hope  that  it  may  stand  here  in  the  Hauran 
an  enduring  sermon  to  the  varied  races  who  pass. 
They  who  come  and  go  here,  reminded  that  the 
Nephalim  with  all  their  arrogant  might  left  little  but 
their  crumbling  tombs;  that  Astarte,  once  the  potent, 
dangerous  goddess  of  the  groves,  here  faded  from  the 
love  of  her  fevered  hosts,  who  themselves  in  turn  faded 
from  the  face  of  the  earth,  may  pause  to  question  what 
the  meaning  and  power  of  this  last,  new,  fresh  present 
ment  !  Perhaps  they  will  hear  from  those  made  wise, 
and  in  time  learn  to  tell  one  another,  that  these  two 
figures  speak  of  the  Deathless  Kingdom,  its  white  loves, 
its  wondrous  rewards  and  its  Spirit  of  might  expressed 
by  all  who  are  in  it  through  the  power  of  an  end 
less  life,  and  through  the  agency  of  immortal  influ 
ence." 

"  Miriamne,  I  see  thee  a  palpitating  angel  in  the 
flesh  !  I  can  say  no  more  !  " 

As  the  young  missioner  thus  spoke  he  stretched  out 


516  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

his  arms  toward  the  woman  he  loved  as  if  he  would 
restrain  her.  The  motion  came  from  his  heart,  which 
was  anxiously  saying  within  :  "  She  is  growing  upward 
and  away  from  her  consort."  But  he  had  neither  cour 
age  nor  words  to  voice  the  vague  thought  which 
brought  admiration  mixed  with  fears. 

They  turned  toward  their  temporary  home  in  the 
Giant  City.  As  they  went,  the  rising  sun  flooded  the 
marble  forms  by  the  graves  with  a  golden  light,  and 
the  twain,  beholding  the  glory  of  that  morning  ben 
ediction,  felt  an  illumining  in  their  hearts  that  some 
way  made  heaven  seem  very  near. 

"  And  now,  darling,  we'll  return  to  Jerusalem,  and 
quietly  pursue  our  work  until  we  join  those  loved  ones 
gone  on  before,"  spoke  the  husband  the  day  after  the 
monument's  unveiling. 

"  I  trust  we  shall  work  in  future  with  better  plans 
and  grander  results  than  we  have  had  before." 

"Are  you  discontented  with  what  we  accomplish  ?  " 

"  No,  and  yes,"  was  her  measured  reply. 

Cornelius  turned  his  eyes  full  upon  her,  lifting 
inquiringly  his  eyebrows. 

She  continued :  "  I'm  satisfied,  if  God  so  will,  to 
blend  my  work  into  my  husband's;  I  know  this  is  my 
duty  as  a  wife,  but  I  long  to  echo  nobler  music.  Can 
you  make  it?  " 

"  Annata,  the  Assyrian  goddess,  was  content  to  be 
the  echo  of  her  spoir^  the  mighty  Ammon.  I'd  be 
an  Ammon  if  I  could  to  be  worthy  being  echoed  by 
Miriamne.  But,  little  wife,  your  words  sound  almost 
Delphic ;  and  yet  you  are  no  such  ambiguous  oracle. 
Is  there  any  wish  unmet?" 

"  I've  a  misgiving." 


Memorials  at  Bozrak.  5 17 

"  Why,  \vife  of  mine,  see  how  strong  you've  been, 
each  year  adding  health  !  See  the  shadows  over  our 
people.  We  are  sent  to  chase  these  away  with  Gospel 
truth.  We've  hitherto  only  learned  how  to  work 
efficiently,  and  in  the  future  will  do  braver,  greater 
things  than  ever.  We'll  tarry,  as  Adolphus,  ay,  and  by 
grace  renew  strength,  turning  back  the  dial  pointer,  as 
with  prayer,  did  Hezekiah  of  old." 

"  I'll  not  go,  I  know,  until  my  work  is  done.  None 
go  before  such  time." 

"  Oh,  but  we  must  go  together  everywhere,  even  to 
death." 

"Ah,  beloved,  I  know  your  meaning.  It's  the  lover, 
not  the  consecrated  missionary,  who  speaks  now." 

"  I  can't  help  it !  I'll  be  useless  without  you.  I'm 
useless  now,  except  as  you  sustain  me  ;  as  Abishag, 
the  Shunnamite,  the  fairest  young  maiden  of  all  Israel, 
brought  heart  to  the  bosom  of  David,  old  and  shaken 
by  years,  so  you  put  into  me  all  the  ambition  I  have. 
To  my  trembling  heart  you  are  what  Deborah  was  to 
Barak's." 

"  God  help  you>  Cornelius  ;  I  believe  you,  because  I 
know  your  trusting  nature  and  have  joyed  in  the  full 
ness  of  your  lavish  love,  but  let  us  bravely  face  this 
matter  as  it  comes.  For  God,  I  know,  I  must  quickly 
do  my  work  and  be  gone." 

"  Oh,  say  not  so,  if  I'm  to  be  left  alone  !  That  must 
not  be  !  By  your  love  for  me  I  entreat  you  to  stay  ;  a 
thousand  ties  bind  my  life  to  thine  ;  it  will  kill  me  by 
inches  to  have  them  severed  ! — 

"  Miriamne,  my  own,  nearer  to  God  by  far  than  am  I  ; 
plead  with  Him  to  spare  us  this  agony!  " 

"In   spirit,  my  loyal  spouse,  we   shall  ever  be   near 


5 !  8  The  Qiieen  of  the  House  of  David. 

each  other,  but  I  feel  that  in  the  body  we  shall  not  be 
together  long.  I  shall  finish  my  course  and  then — 

"  No,  not  that,"  vehemently  exclaimed  the  husband. 
"  Say  not  that  !  I'll  work  for  you,  with  you,  for  God. 
Help  me  to  the  end  and  let  me  so  help  you,  beloved  !  " 

"You  may  help  me  while  I  tarry." 

"  I'll  joy  to  realize  the  prophet's  vision,  who  saw  the 
hands  of  a  man  under  the  wings  of  an  angel.  Here 
are  the  hands  and  Miriamne  is  the  angel." 

"  But  your  imagination  glows,  kindled  by  the  torch 
of  a  human  heart  almost  idolatrous." 

"  Nay,  not  idolatrous  ;  for  the  fire  rises  to  things 
holy.  I  only  plead  that  God  let  me  walk  with  Miri 
amne ;  I  know  she  will  walk  nigh  Him.  Go  where 
you  will  my  feet  will  bear  me  thither,  undertake 
what  you  may,  my  heart  and  hand  will  help  ;  point  out 
any  goal  of  darling  desire  and  thither  I'll  carry  you, 
if  need  be.  For  you  I'll  gladly  die,  if,  at  the  dying,  I 
have  the  comforting  assurance  that  soon  my  other  self 
will  join  me  in  the  overshadowed  land  of  life." 

"  How  it  would  brighten  the  world,  if  all  who  take 
the  holy  vows  o-f  marriage  on  their  souls  were  as  truly 
wed  in  heart  as  we."  As  the  twain  stood  by  the  white 
marble  figures  at  sunrise  the  next  morning,  equipped 
for  departure,  they  made  a  striking  picture.  The  liv 
ing  and  the  dead  ;  the  exemplars  of  the  purest,  deepest 
wedded  love  committed  to  serving  their  fellow  man  ; 
they  rose  grandly  above  the  ruins  of  the  place  builded 
by  those  mighty  self-seeking  devotees  of  Astarte. 

Bozrah  sat  in  desolation,  knowing  no  hope  and  hav 
ing  a  bitter  past  only  and  forever  to  contemplate  ;  the 
youthful  gospel  heralds  had  all  life,  rising  to  new  life — 
hope  beyond  hope,  joy  beyond  joy,  and  then  life,  hope 


Memorials  at  Bozrah.  519 

and  joy  in  endless  unfoldments,  stretching  way  through 
measureless  eternities,  all  before  them.  Miriamne  was 
pensive  ;  Cornelius  was  chastened  by  the  remembrance 
of  the  words  she  had  spoken  the  day  before,  and  both 
subdued  by  the  presence  of  the  majestic  monument  be 
fore  them. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

THE  SISTERS  OF  BETHANY. 

*•  Her  eyes  are  homes  of  silent  prayer, 
No  thought  her  mind  admits  ; 
But  '  He  was  dead  and  there  he  sits ! 
And  He  that  brought  him  back  is  there  I ' 

"  All  subtle  thought,  all  curious  fears, 

Borne  down  by  gladness  so  complete; 
She  bows,  she  bathes  the  Savior's  feet 
With  costly  spikenard  and  with  tears." 

—ALFRED  TENNYSON. 

"  In  the  day  time  He  was  teaching  in  the  temple,  and  at  night 
He  went  out  and  abode  in  the  mount  that  is  called  the  Mount  of 
Olives." — LUKE  xxi.,  37. 

"  Gethsemane  on  one  side,  Bethany  on  the  other  .  .  .  where 
He  was  wont  to  pray  for  His  people  and  weep  for  a  sinful  world; 
where  His  feet  stood  on  the  eve  of  His  ascension  and  where  His 
wondering  disciples  received  from  white-robed  angels  the  promise 
of  His  second  advent.  It  will  be  admitted  that  above  and  beyond 
all  places  in  Palestine  Olivet  witnessed  '  God  manifest  in  the  flesh.'  " 
— Porter's  "Giants  of  Bashan." 

JFTER  Jesus  had  been  driven  from  His  na 
tive  Nazareth,  He  found  a  home  in  the  house 
of  Lazarus,  Martha  and  Mary,  in  the  village 
of  Bethany,  on  the  eastern  slope  of  Olivet. 

That  was   sweet,  memorable  Bethany  of  the  Gospels  ; 

"  the  perfection   of  repose,"  amid   the  palm   and  oak- 


The  Sisters  of  Bethany.  521 

covered  slopes  of  Olivet  ;  hidden  by  its  quiet  life,  as 
well  as  its  sequestering  mountain,  from  Jerusalem, 
that  great,  throbbing  heart  of  Palestine. 

Thither,  down  the  east  steps  of  the  Temple,  through 
the  "  Golden  Gate,"  along  camel  paths  that  wound  past 
Gethsemane  and  across  fitful  Kedron,  the  Son  of  Man 
often  wrent  when  worn  out  by  His  love  ministries. 
or  harassed  by  the  gainsayings  of  the  great  city.  So, 
preaching  His  new  kingdom,  He  exalted  its  corner 
stone,  the  godly  home,  by  electing  one  such,  that  of 
Lazarus  and  his  sisters,  as  a  rest  and  a  refuge  for  Him 
self.  Beyond  this  He  proved  His  own  humanity  by 
seeking  earthly  friendships,  at  the  same  time  exhibit 
ing  Himself,  though  the  favored  of  heaven,  the  object 
of  constant  angelic  regard,  as  needing,  because  He  was 
human,  that  which  humanity  ever  needs — congenial 
human  fellowships. 

The  history  of  that  ancient  Bethany  family,  gathered 
from  various  sources,  but  chiefly  from  the  simple  and 
touching  narrative  of  the  Evangelist  John,  is  full  of 
interest.  The  mother  of  that  home,  to  us  nameless, 
was  dead.  Yet  she  was  not  fameless ;  that  circle  of 
children  in  their  several  relationships  witnessed  full  well 
of  a  finest  mother-culture,  that  had  been  theirs.  The 
father  of  that  family  was  worse  than  dead  ;  he  was  a 
leper,  buried  alive  in  the  Lazar  keeps  of  the  plague- 
stricken,  and  the  husband  of  Martha,  the  elder  sister, 
early  had  left  his  bride  widowed. 

That  was  a  circle  cut  through  its  center  ;  but  afBic. 
tion  had  knit  together  in  deepened  affection  the  few 
left.  The  fatherly  brother,  Lazarus,  well  fulfilled  his 
double  obligation,  and  wins  admiration,  as  do  ever 
those  sons  and  brothers  who  faithfully  take  the  place 


522  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

of  dead  fathers.  That  he  was  such  a  brother,  the  grief 
of  his  sisters  when  he  died  fully  proclaimed. 

With  a  few  fine  sentences  John  depicts  those  sisters. 
Martha,  widowed  in  life's  morning,  but  surmounting  all 
morbidness  by  giving  herself  to  motherly  ministries  in 
her  home  ;  and  then  was  Mary,  a  clinging,  trusting,  pious 
maiden  ;  a  poem  of  faith,  a  tear-bede\ved  rose-wreath. 
When  Christ  joined  that  circle  there  was  presented  the 
finest  conceivable  ideal  of  a  home.  They  served  and 
He  blessed,  and  though  their  bereavements  could  never 
be  forgotten,  while  His  banner  of  love  was  over  them, 
they  were  able  to  alleviate  the  poignancy  of  their 
griefs  through  the  hope  of  a  blessed  resurrection  and  a 
final,  eternal  reunion. 

The  sacred  associations  gathering  about  the  village 
of  Olivet  made  it  a  place  peculiarly  attractive  to  Cor 
nelius  and  Miriamne ;  for  they,  too,  were  bereaved ; 
neither  in  all  the  world  having  a  single  living  kinsman 
of  whom  they  knew. 

They  determined,  shortly  after  their  final  farewell  to 
Bozrah,  to  take  up  their  abode  at  the  '  House  of  Dates," 
and  were  unmeasurably  delighted  in  being  able  to  se 
cure  for  themselves  a  house  reputed  to  have  been  the 
identical  one  occupied  by  Christ  and  His  choice  friends. 
If  it  were  not  the  same,  there  seemed  good  reason  to 
believe  it  was  at  least  on  the  site  of  that  ancient  sacred 
domicile. 

One  day  they  conversed  of  their  work,  their  hopes, 
and  the  needs  of  their  field  of  labor. 

"  I'm  led  to  think  that  we  should  establish  a  refuge 
for  Magdalenes,  Miriamne." 

"If  we  did  attempt  the  founding  of  an  asylum  for 
Outcasts  vve  would  not  belie  the  memory  of  a  noble 


The  Sisters  of  Bethany.  523 

woman,  who  was  never  a  harlot,  by  applying  to  it  her 
name.  But  my  'grail'  does  not  lead  me  that  way. 
I'd  go  mad  working  for  the  utterly  lost  only  !  No  ;  no. 
our  work  must  be  more  radical,  by  beginning  back  of 
the  falling  so  as  to  prevent  it." 

"  Something  must  be  done  to  educate  the  women  of 
this  country  to  better  living  and  higher  conceptions  of 
womanhood.  We  need  a  school  of  some  kind." 

"A  school?  Good,  if  it  be  of  the  right  kind;  but 
there  have  been  schools  and  schools  for  men,  such  as 
they  were,  and  they  have  effectually  proven  that  educa 
tion  alone  is  not  a  savior.  Learning  does  not  trans 
form  the  soul,  else  God  would  have  given  Moses  the 
pattern  of  a  college  instead  of  that  of  a  tabernacle. 
My  mother  used  often  to  tell  me  that  the  devil  is 
superbly  educated.  The  more  he  knows  the  prouder 
and  more  dangerous  he  becomes.  I  do  not  despise 
learning,  but  since  it  is  impotent  to  transform  men, 
why  try  it  as  the  savior  of  woman?  She  who  takes 
counsel  less  of  the  intellect  than  of  the  conscience  and 
affections !  We  must  seek  for  those  we  aim  to  help 
something  surpassing  in  direct  efficacy  any  thing  yet 
attempted  ;  "  so  saying,  Miriamne  paused. 

"Shall  we  organize  a  church,  '  fair  as  the  moon,  clear 
as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with  banners?" 

There  have  been  churches  and  churches.  It  would 
be  vain  for  me  to  attempt  to  prove  to  you,  a  theologian 
and  a  churchman,  that  this  you  call  the  '  Bride  of 
Christ '  is  imperfect  or  lacking  in  any  energy  of  reform ; 
but,  though  I  heartily  confess  'tis  the  choicest  institu 
tion  this  side  of  the  stars,  yet  I  see  it  professing  to 
have  heavenly  charity,  abounding  light,  and  measureless 
joys,  leaving  the  needy  without  hospitals,  the  heathen 


524  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

in  ignorance,  and  most  of  the  world,  including  many 
churchmen,  famishing  for  happiness.  The  trouble  is, 
it  infolds  too  many  wolves  and  repels  too  many  lambs. 
Your  flocks  are  too  much  given  to  atoning  for  lean  liv 
ing  by  fat  believing;  memorizing  huge  creeds  instead  of 
incarnating  them;  putting  their  faith-confessions  into 
themselves  rather  than  themselves  into  their  faith  pro 
fessions.  You  churchmen  shut  your  ears  to  friendly 
criticism,  sneer  at  those  that  censure,  and  in  branding 
such  heretics  proclaim  yourselves  infallible.  I'd  not 
be  a  vaporing  railler,  but  I  hear  within  your  ecclesias 
tical  bodies  of  warring  factions,  of  ambitious  and  mul 
titudinous  leaders,  a  proof  that  they  are  of  the  church 
militant ;  though  theirs  is  an  internecine  militating. 
I  doubt  if  there  has  existed  Christ's  ideal  of  a  church 
since  Pentecost.  He  gave  a  glimpse  of  its  true  out 
lines  there,  and  it  will  yet  come  in  its  power  and  splen 
dor ;  then,  for  the  paeans!  " 

"You'd  organize,  perhaps,  a  Vestal  Band?" 

"Vestals?" 

"  Yes  ;  an  union  of  women  of  pure  hearts,  committed 
.solely  to  such  works  as  those  performed  in  part  by  the 
holy  sisters  of  our  church  fraternities." 

"  I  revere  such  as  are  thus  engaged  with  all  my  heart ; 
but,  churchman,  you  are  narrow  in  your  plan  ;  even 
Pagan  Rome,  which  honored  Vesta,  the  fire  goddess, 
by  having  an  altar  to  her  in  every  community,  held 
that  the  State  was  a  great  family,  and  placed  Vesta, 
the  goddess  of  virginal  purity,  near  the  Penates,  or 
gods  of  the  household  and  family." 

"  I  see  nothing  now  in  this  juxtaposition." 

"  They  saw  that  there  was  ruin  to  all  society  if  their 
girls  were  impure;  hence  buried  alive  a  Vestal,  if  she 


The  Sisters  of  Bethany.  525 

fell  from  *.er  vow  of  chastity.  You  have  heard,  Cor 
nelius,  how  good  Romans  were  wont  to  invoke,  often, 
as  their  family  guardians,  the  manes  of  their  departed 
kin;  and  this  very  naturally;  they  held  to  the  belief 
that  the  family  tie,  the  finest,  strongest  known  among 
men,  outlived,  by  virtue  of  its  heavenliness,  the 
shock  of  death.  Imperial  Rome  trusted  much  its 
all-conquering  swords,  for  this  life,  but  for  the  life 
to  come  it  appealed  to  Jupiter  omnipotent  or  Mi 
nerva,  the  all-wise.  No,  no,  a  '  Vestal  Society,'  such 
as  you  imply,  would  not  suffice.  I've  a  broader  client 
age  and  vaster  scheme  in  mind,  good  churchman  hus 
band — " 

"  Shall  I  venture  another  guess?" 

"  It  would  be  needless.  Let  me  explain  myself 
fully.  Good  Father  Adolphus,  founder  of  Bozrah's 
'  Balsam  Band,'  which  he  sometimes  called  '  nursing 
preachers,'  told  me  that  in  olden  times  there  was  in  this 
country  a  fraternity  of  women,  banded  together  to 
perform  works  of  charity.  They  were  remembered 
chiefly  for  their  helpfulness  to  those  that  were  in  direst 
need  and  utterly  friendless.  They  befriended  criminals 
and  social  outcasts.  He  said  that  the  women  of  Jeru 
salem  who  followed  Christ  weeping,  were,  probably, 
of  that  fraternity,  since  it  was  the  custom  of  that  pious 
company  to  offer  their  tears  for  those  on  the  way  to 
execution.  More,  these  women  were  wont  to  furnish 
the  pain-dulling  herbs  to  victims  dying  condemned. 
You  remember  the  Christ  was  offered  such  herbs? 
When  I  remember  the  spirit  that  actuated  Martha  and 
Mary,  I  readily  believe  they  were  members  of  that 
pious  fraternity.  More,  when  I  remember  how,  for 
His  own  dear  sake,  they  ministered  to  His  human 


526  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

wants,  there  comes  to  my  mind  the  possibility  of  a  per 
petual  organization,  for  God's  sake,  ministering  to 
human  want,  taking  the  home  as  its  palace,  and  to  be 
known  to  the  world  by  the  expressive,  winning  title, 
'  Sisters  of  Bethany.'  ' 

"  Miriamne,  if  you  were  not  Miriamne,  I'd  call  you 
Gabriel.  I'm  dazzled  by  these  words.  In  truth,  thy 
*  grail'  is  near,  I  believe." 

"  That  I  seek  to  build  up  I've  explained,  and  here  in 
Bethany  I'll  attempt  it.  We'll  have  a  fraternity  of  wo 
men,  Christ-guided,  with  burning  hearts,  and  in  meth 
ods  simple,  direct  and  catholic,  reaching  after  women." 

"  Now  for  our  pillow  prayer,  Miriamne.  Then  sice 
by  side,  unto  wondrous  sleep  land,  side  by  side  in  heart 
and  being  at  awakening. 

"'  The  sun  of  the  millennium  will  rise  from  behind 
the  family  altar,'  Father  Adolphus  was  wont  to  say. 
'Twas  well  said ;  redeemed  homes  are  the  fruits  of  the 
restoration.  Shall  I  read  to-night?" 

"  Surely  we  need  the  Word  to  understand  the  throb- 
bings  of  our  own  hearts  when  our  prayers  return, 
dove-like,  with  olive  branches  from  heaven." 

"  What  shall  I  read  ?  " 

"  What  came  after  Pentecost !  " 

Then  the  husband  opened  to  the  Gospel  Story,  and 
remarking  the  '  Ascension,'  read  : 

"  He  was  taken  up,  after  that  He  through  the  Holy 
Ghost  had  given  commandments  unto  the  apostles 
whom  he  had  chosen  : 

"  To  whom  also  He  shewed  himself  alive  after  His 
passion  by  many  infallible  proofs,  being  seen  of  them 
forty  days,  and  speaking  of  the  things  pertaining  to  the 
kingdom  of  God  : 


The  Sisters  of  Bethany.  527 

"  When  they  therefore  were  come  together,  they 
asked  of  Him,  saying,  Lord,  wilt  Thou  at  this  time  re 
store  again  the  kingdom  of  Israel  ? 

"  And  He  said  unto  them,  It  is  not  for  you  to  know 
the  times  or  the  seasons,  which  the  Father  hath  put 
into  His  own  power. 

"But  ye  shall  receive  power,  after  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  is  come  upon  you  :  and  ye  shall  be  witnesses 
unto  Me  both  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  all  Judea,  and  in  Sa 
maria,  and  unto  the  uttermost  part  of  the  earth. 

"And  when  He  had  spoken  these  things,  while 
they  beheld,  He  was  taken  up  ;  and  a  cloud  received 
Him  out  of  their  sight. 

"  And  while  they  looked  steadfastly  toward  heaven 
as  He  went  up,  behold,  two  men  stood  by  them  in 
white  apparel ; 

"  Which  also  said,  Ye  men  of  Galilee,  why  stand  ye 
gazing  up  into  heaven  ?  This  same  Jesus,  which  is 
taken  up  from  you  into  heaven,  shall  so  come  in  like 
manner  as  ye  have  seen  Him  go  into  heaven." 

"  And  His  farewell  happened  at  Bethany  ?  It  makes 
our  home  seem  still  more  like  the  gate  of  heaven,  when  I 
remember  this  ;  '  He'll  come  so  as  He  went ; '  what  if 
that  meant  His  next  advent  is  to  be  at  this  very  place  ?  " 

"  Or,  what  if  it  meant  that  He  would  appear  the 
second  time,  in  glory,  at  the  homes  of  men  ;  since  He 
elected  His  home  for  the  gateway  of  His  earthly 
exit,"  replied  the  husband.  Then  they  sat  for  a 
little  while  in  a  blessed  silence  ;  that  kind  that  falls 
upon  souls  bowing  to  a  benediction,  or  moved  by 
thoughts  that  are  holy  beyond  expression. 

The  wife  broke  in  on  their  reverie  :  "  I  wonder  how 
His  departure  affected  the  disciples  ?  " 


528  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"I  have  it  all  here,  darling;"  then  he  took  one  of 
his  parchments  and  read  : 

"  And  He  led  them  out  as  far  as  to  Bethany,  and  lie 
lifted  up  His  hands,  and  blessed  them. 

"  And  it  came  to  pass,  while  He  blessed  them,  He  was 
parted  from  them,  and  carried  up  into  heaven. 

"And  they  worshiped  Him,  and  returned  to  Jerusa 
lem  with  great  joy: 

"  And  were  continually  in  the  temple,  praising  and 
blessing  God. 

"And  they  went  forth,  and  preached  everywhere, 
the  Lord  working  with  them,  and  confirming  the  word 
with  signs  following." 

"I  krew  it  was  as  I  thought!  If  believers  are  as 
they  say,  enlisted  soldiers,  under  the  blood-stained 
banners,  our  Christ  has  not  been  true  to  His  word,  or 
there  is  universal  treason  in  the  camp  !  The  world  is 
not  gospeled  and  the  soldiers  have  not  the  miracle 
power.  I  tell  you  husband,  there  is  need  of  a  revolu 
tion,  a  revival  of  zeal,  an  improvement  of  methods  ! 
The  Hospitaler  was  right.  The  Christian  world  needs 
to  be  led  along  the  Via  Dolorosa  after  Jesus  and  Mary, 
up  to  their  measure  of  utter  consecration,  to  their  undy 
ing  love,  to  their  lofty,  soul  consuming  zeal  !  " 

And  the  young  gospel  herald  was  silent,  for  he  could 
v)t  gainsay  her. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 
THE  QUEEN  OF  THE  HOUSE  OF  DAVID. 

"  The  harp  the  monarch  minstrel  swept, 
The  king  of  men,  the  loved  of  heaven. 

*  *  *  * 

It  softened  men  of  iron  mold  ; 
No  ear  so  dull,  no  soul  so  cold 
That  felt  not,  fired  not  to  the  tone, 
Till  David's  lyre  grew  mightier  than  the  throne  ; 
Since  then,  though  heard  on  earth  no  more, 
Devotion,  and  her  daughter,  love, 
Still  bid  the  bursting  spirit  soar, 
To  sounds  that  seem  as  from  above, 
In  dreams  that  day's  broad  light  can  not  remove.'" 

—BYRON. 

"  The  king  rose  up  to   meet  her,  and  bowed  himself  unto  her, 
.     and  caused  a  seat  to  be  set  for  the  king-mother,  and  she 
;at  at  his  right  hand." — i    KINGS,  2,  19. 

[RIAMNE,  the  heavenly  host  we   imagined 
to  be  in  bivouac  about  our   Bethany  home, 
methinkswere  really  present,  and  gave  color 
and  form  to   my  dreams.     I  was  in  a  grail- 
quest  all  night." 

"  What  a  golden  day  is  such  a  night !     But  tell  me 
of  the  color  and  form  of  your  visions,  Cornelius." 

"  We  fell  asleep  last  night  conversing  of  the  Ascen 
sion  ;  my  dreams  carried  me  on  to  Pentecost." 

"And  what  have  you  brought   from  the   the  dream. 


530  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

land    to    help    in    the    stern    and    pressing     waking 
hours?  " 

"A  panting  heart,  as  one  having  climbed  mountain 
above  mountain.  I  burn  to  know  and  feel  the  whole 
significance  of  Pentecost ! 

"  I've  determined  to  seek  holy  companionship  and 
wise  guiding  by  attendance  at  the  next '  Harvest  Feast ' 
at  Jerusalem.  I  think  I'll  get  peculiar  help  at  the  great 
city." 

"The  Israelites  will  not  welcome  a  Christian  to  their 
feast." 

"  The  one  I  aim  to  attend  is  that  that  will  be  observed 
by  the  Christian  knights  in  an  upper  room,  in  the  great 
city.  They  think  they  have  possession  of  the  identical 
apartment  in  which  the  disciples  of  our  Lord  met  and 
witnessed  the  glories  of  Pentecost,  after  the  Ascension." 

"  In  Joseph  of  Arimathaea's  house?  " 

"That  is  the  accepted  report.  The  Hospitaler, 
whom  we  believe  to  be  a  '  Grail  Knight '  of  to-day,  is 
quite  earnest  in  so  affirming." 

"  Wondrous  vvhite-souled  Arimathaea  !  Jewish  and 
a  priest,  yet  secretly  a  disciple  of  Jesus!  I  dare  to 
liken  myself  unto  that  holy  man,  in  a  measure.  He 
left  an  old  faith  for  a  new  one,  and  followed  the  cup 
of  the  Passion,  as  I,  my  ideal." 

"A  good  man  and  a  just"  says  the  Testament. 
*  #  *  *  #  #  * 

We  meet  to-night  in  Arimathaea's  house,"  said  the 
Hospitaler  to  Cornelius,  shortly  after  the  arrival  and 
welcome  of  the  latter  at  Jerusalem. 

"Can  the  uninitiated  attend?"  questioned  Corne 
lius. 

"  Now,  that's  the  joy  of  it,  they  can  ;  and  more,  we 


The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David.  531 

are  to  have  a  number  or  Jews  present,  among  them 
some  once  priests ;  but  now  like  that  Joseph  of  bless 
ed  memory,  seeing  the  true  light." 

"And  the  meeting?" 

"  The  exalting  of  the  Word,  that's  the  need  of  the 
hour,  world-wide.  I  tell  thee,  young  man,  set  to  teach  ; 
the  needs  are  not  more  religions  but  more  religion,  not 
more  revelators  or  prophets  but  surer  interpreters.  The 
world  blooms  with  truth  on  every  hand  ;  who  will 
pluck  the  blossoms  ?  " 

And  the  disciples  were  again,  all  with  one  accord, 
in  the  holy  upper  chamber. 

The  Hospitaler,  with  an  abruptness  of  John  the  Bap 
tist,  merely  throwing  back  his  tunic  and  exposing  the 
golden  sign  of  knighthood  for  a  moment  to  his  com 
panions,  as  he  entered,  at  once  began  to  address  the 
assembly ; 

"  Jews  and  Gentiles,  all  children  by  creation  of  a 
common  Father — greeting  !  The  fires  of  Pentecost  are 
kindled  everywhere  in  Jerusalem,  but  they  are  the  old 
fires  and  cold  enough  ;  sacrifices  smoke  on  the  altars, 
but  the  day  of  such  offerings  is  past. 

"  Methinks,  the  offered  bulls,  goats  and  lambs,  if  they 
could  speak,  would  cry  out  against  the  priestly  hands 
that  shed  their  blood  ;  '  How  long,  how  long  the  blood 
of  our  flocks  has  pointed  to  the  lamb  of  God,  the  All- 
Savior,  who  died  to  save  men  from  sin  and  beasts 
from  the  altar;  and  yet  we  die  as  if  our  work  were  not 
finished  ! ' 

'*  The  beasts  join  in  the  wailings  of  humanity. 

•'  For  centuries  God's  chosen  people  celebrated  this 
feast  of  the  harvest,  the  joy  of  Jewry;  and  now  the 
world's  harvest  advenes.  Yet,  for  the  most  part,  the 


532  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

multitudes  see  not  the  ripening.  For  years  the  first 
fruits  were  offered,  and  as  yet,  the  people  do  not  un 
derstand  that  first  fruits  mean  chosen,  choice  fruits,  the 
elect  of  God. 

"  For  centuries,  Israel  offered  the  shoulder  and  heart 
of  the  lamb,  and  yet  Israel  waits  under  the  overshadow 
ing  smokes  of  its  burnt  offering,  not  discerning  the 
Lamb  Priest,  whose  heart  of  eternal  love  and  shoulder 
of  power,  are  given  for  the  salvation  of  the  people. 

"  Israelites,  hear  me  ;  out  of  the  altar's  smoke  emerges 
to  view  the  kingdom  of  the  house  of  David,  refined,  puri 
fied — the  hope  of  the  future.  Ye  have  thought,  hith 
erto,  that  David's  kingdom,  whatsoever  it  might  have 
been,  is,  in  these  ages,  to  be  reckoned  with  the  dynasties 
and  forces  of  an  antiquity,  whose  influences  long  ago 
ebbed  away  along  the  shores  of  the  all-entombing  past. 

"  Yet  such  conclusion  is  as  fallacious  as  it  is  evidently 
superficial.  The  God  who  works  in  unbroken  time 
cycles,  though  men  remit  their  tasks  at  the  beck  of  sleep 
or  death,  pushes  forth  His  forceful,  faultless  projects 
with  a  tireless  consistency  that  knows  no  cross  pur 
poses.  A  real  and  present  kingdom  is  that  with  which 
this  Pentecost  we  have  to  do.  We  are  not,  at  that 
time  when  they  shall  bring  out  tJie  bones  of  the  kings  of 
JiidaJi  and  spread  them  before  the  sun.  David's  throne 
is  a  verity,  though  long  incrusted  with  neglects  ;  it  is  a 
symbol  of  power  in  a  dynasty  that  is  ordained  to  over 
spread  the  earth.  I'd  summon  my  witnesses  ;  first  the 
weeping  Jeremiah.  '  Thus  said  the  Lord  :  David  shall 
never  lack  a  man  to  sit  on  the  throne  of  the  house  of 
Israel.'  How  bold  !  but  amid  the  ruins  about  us,  I  cry 
never!  never!  Now  call  the  God-nourished  cap 
tive  Daniel,  who,  sincere  to  the  last,  made  all  Babylon 


The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David.  533 

glow  with  his  prayers  and  his  visions.  Saith  Dan 
iel : 

"  '  The  God  of  heaven  shall  set  up  a  kingdom 
that  shall  never  be  destroyed.'  The  dream  is  cer 
tain  ;  the  interpretation  sure.  He  was  proof  against 
the  alluring  blandishments  of  his  royal  captors,  and  as 
pure  to  the  last  as  a  knight  of  San  Grail." 

Cornelius  saw  a  light  on  the  Hospitaler's  face,  and 
knew  it  was  that  that  comes  from  a  conscience  clear 
before  God.  The  latter  went  on  with  a  voice  suddenly 
become  tenderer  than  it  was  before. 

"  Let  us  hear  the  reply  of  the  converted  pagan  king, 
Nebuchadnezzar  :  Whose  kingdom  is  from  generation 
to  generation  ! ' 

"  Hearken  to  Isaiah,  to  whom  the  scroll  of  human  his 
tory  through  a  thousand  generations  then  yet  to  come 
was  present  and  lucid  :  '  Unto  us  a  child  is  born  .  .  . 
his  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful  .  .  The  Prince 
of  Peace.'  '  Of  the  increase  of  His  government  and 
peace  there  shall  be  no  end  upon  the  throne  of  David 
to  establish  it  with  judgment  and  with  justice  from 
henceforth  and  forever.'  Surely  he  must  be  of  dull 
comprehension  who  saith  this  is  only  the  spiritual, 
heavenly  kingdom  of  the  glorified. 

"  Let  us  stand  for  a  little  under  the  light  of  the 
blazing  tongues  of  Pentecost,  enswathed  in  imagina 
tion  by  the  mighty,  rushing  tide  of  Spirit  manifesta 
tion,  fresh  from  the  Being  of  the  Almighty.  Now  lis 
ten  to  Peter,  transfigured  and  illuminated  within  and 
without.  Error  here,  with  him,  was  impossible  !  Un 
truth  at  such  a  time  would  be  a  madness  like  that  of 
the  attempted  steadying  of  the  ark.  Saith  Peter  :  '  Da 
vid  being-  a  prophet  knowing  that  God  had  sivorn  to  Jiim 


534  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

that  He  would  raise  tip  Christ  to  sit  on  his  throne!  Pe 
ter  at  last,  a  rock  of  God,  I  bless  thee !  Call  that  arch 
angel,  who  doth  excel  in  strength,  his  name  given  him 
in  heaven  being  Gabriel,  the  '  Champion  of  God.'  He 
certified  his  mission  to  Mary  in  terms  that  can  be 
made  no  finer  :  '  /  am  Gabriel,  that  STAND  IN  THE  PRES 
ENCE  OF  GOD  and  sent  to  show  thce  glad  tidings. 
Thou  shalt  bring  forth  a  son.  And  the  Lord  shall  give 
unto  Him  the  throne  of  His  father  David.'  Of  H  is,King- 
dom  there  shall  be  no  end.  These  are  '  glad  tidings,' 
indeed,  sung  as  such  to  the  joy  and  wonder  of  heaven, 
as  well  as  proclaimed  as  the  sovereign  comfort  of 
earth's  inhabiters. 

"  The  splendid,  earthly  Kingdom  outlined  so  glori 
ously  by  the  prophets  has  suffered  no  syncope,  and  Da 
vid's  royal  line  has  not  found  its  end  in  sepulchral 
palaces.  That  Kingdom  and  that  line  survives;  their 
zenith  not  yet  attained. 

"In  that  zenith  day,  Truth  shall  spring  out  of  the 
earth,  and  righteousness  shall  look  down  from  heaven. 

11  So  it  was  settled  forever  in  heaven,  for  earth  and 
to  all  eternity,  that  in  the  vocabulary  of  divine  wisdom, 
'first-born'  means  'choice-born.'  And  he  is  choice- 
born  no  matter  how  ill  his  beginning,  who  is  reborn  by 
the  all-uplifting,  renewing  Spirit  of  Grace !  Jesus,  in 
marked  manner,  even  in  this  respect,  parallels  David 
in  reaffirming  in  Himself  this  law  of  His  refined,  exalted 
kingdom.  The  line  of  the  Christ  from  remotest  gener 
ations  is  found  to  have  deflected  from  the  line  of  the 
first  born.  His  descent  must  be  traced  through  Seth, 
Shem,  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  Judah,  David,  Solomon 
and  Nathan,  and  still  others,  none  of  whom  were  first 
in  their  advent  into  the  families  to  which  they  belonged. 


The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David.  535 

Again,  the  Christ  and  his  progenitor,  David,  antagon 
ized  the  barbarian  tenet  of  all  ages  that  a  man  was  to 
be  honored  merely  because  of  his  gigantesque  figure  or 
prowess.  In  olden  times  men  revered  greatly  the 
giantly.  Among  the  primitives  to  be  a  weakling  was 
to  be  pitiable,  and  to  be  huge  to  monstrosity  was  to  be 
respected,  if  not  actually  worshiped.  Indeed,  pagan 
ism  in  its  essence  is  but  homage  paid  to  the  great,  that 
is  terrible.  The  princely  David  began  his  career  in 
slaying  wild  beasts  and  monstrous  giants,  but  we  may 
cease  admiring  the  prowess  he  had  physically  in  greater 
admiration  of  the  symbol  that  lies  in  his  early  exploits. 
He  was  to  be  the  giant-slayer;  evil  giants  and  giant 
evils  were  to  fall  before  him  alike  ;  and  a  shepherd's 
little  sling,  in  pious  hands,  was  shown  to  be  invin 
cible.  In  Solomon's  time,  there  was  more  out 
ward  splendor,  but  less  spirituality  than  in  David's 
time.  The  latter  witnessed  the  gilded  decline  in  its 
beginnings.  Decay  followed  swiftly.  The  world 
sighed  for  a  restoration  ;  the  heathen  manufactured 
gods ;  the  Fire  Worshipers  followed  stars ;  in  the 
groves,  virgins  were,  after  a  sort,  worshiped,  as  in 
the  forest  night-services  of  the  old  England  of  some  of 
you,  the  Druids  prayed  to  a  mystical  '  virgin  that  was 
to  bring  forth.'  There  was  a  common  yearning  for  the 
coming  of  a  Champion  to  lead  and  defend  the  races  of 
man.  The  yearning  felt  its  way  blindly  toward  the 
wonder  to  be,  that  of  a  woman  of  the  children  of  men, 
mothering  One  all  human,  all  divine,  a  Prince  fit  to  link 
together  the  parts  of  David's  kingdom,  whether  mili 
tant  here  or  triumphant  above.  That  full  day  has 
begun,  but  is  only  dimly  seen  by  many.  You  Jews 
have  been  wont  to  keen  a  Pentecost  of  males  only 


536  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

while  Egypt  deifies  a  woman  as  goddess  of  the  harvest, 
One  turns  to  brawn,  the  other  to  the  bringer  forth,  and 
neither  gets  the  truth,  the  royal  truth,  found  in  the 
faith  that  brings  forth  through  all  humanity ! 

"  Would  you  see  a  real  Pentecost  ?  Now,  look  how 
the  first  was  to  the  fathers.  The  holy  ones,  among 
Christ's  followers,  believing  His  promises,  assembled 
at  Joseph  of  Arimathaea's  house,  to  await  it.  Hear  the 
word  : 

"And  in  those  days  Peter  stood  up  in  the  midst  of 
the  disciples,  the  number  of  names  together  were  about 
a  hundred  and  twenty. 

"  These  all  continued  with  one  accord  in  prayer  and 
supplication,  with  the  women,  and  Mary  the  mother  of 
Jesus,  and  with  his  brethren." 

"  Our  holy  Luke,  said  to  have  been  an  artist,  artistically 
presents  the  scene.  As  we  read  his  record,  we  behold 
the  'Queen  of  the  House  of  David,'  the  representative 
woman  ;  as  she  should  be,  in  the  company  and  honor 
of  God's  people.  Not  there  as  a  beautiful  creature  to 
be  admired  ;  but  there  to  pray  with  those  who  prayed 
for  the  dawn  and  the  glory.  With  the  genius  of  an  artist, 
and  the  insight  of  a  prophet,  Luke  displays  his  ideal 
thus.  The  Scripture  record  closes,  leaving  the  typical 
woman  amid  God's  people,  on  her  knees,  waiting  in 
hopefulness  for  the  full  dawn  ;  while  for  a  little  time 
over  all  falls  the  earnest  of  the  promise  in  miraculous 
displays  from  above.  There  was  a  rushing  of  mighty 
sounds,  the  providences  of  God  in  motion,  the  move 
ments  of  His  spirits  who  minister,  for  a  time  made 
visible  !  The  scene  was  one  never  to  be  forgotten,  and 
the  holy  John,  years  after  in  the  glowing  visions  of  the 
Apocalypse,  had  brought  to  his  mind  its  cent.al  figure 


TJie  Queen  of  the  House  of  David.  537 

the  woman  clothed  with  the  sun  ;  the  transfigured 
woman,  and  she  as  woman  in  her  highest  estate  ;  that 
is  mothering  a  child  !  He  saw  her  rising  above  all 
perils,  all  evils  ;  but  as  she  rose,  she  bore  aloft  her 
child,  a  Man  Child  !  Look  at  the  picture,  men  and 
brethren,  'till  it  possesses  your  souls!  BEHOLD  THE 
WOMAN  !  Behold  the  interlaced  symbols  !  As  a  mother 
holds  above  peril  her  child,  so  the  peerless  woman 
held  aloft  her  Divine  Babe  ;  as  the  church  holds  aloft  its 
offspring,  so  also  in  the  apotheosis  of  the  ideal  mother, 
comes  the  uplifting  of  man's  hopes,  and  the  triumph  of 
all  that  is  best,  all  that  is  promised.  We  see  to-day, 
but  the  smoke  side  of  Pentecost,  by  and  by  we'll  see, 
as  do  those  in  heaven,  its  fire  side." 

The  speaker  ceased  his  address,  and  all  were  filled 
with  great  and  moving  thoughts. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 
THE  CORONATION  OF  THE  QUEEN. 

"  My  knowledge  is  so  weak,  oh,  blissful  queen, 
To  tell  abroad  thy  mighty  worthiness, 
That  I  the  weight  of  it  may  not  sustain ; 
But  as  a  child  of  twelve  months'  old  or  less 
That  laboreth  his  language  to  express, 
Even  so  fare  I  and  therefore  pray, 
Guide  thou  my  song  which  I  of  thee  may  say." 

—WORDSWORTH, 

F  I  could  only  carry  to  Bethany  \vhat  I  feel 
now  !  "  ejaculated  the  young  chaplain,  as  he 
hurried  along  from  the  knights'  celebration 
of  Pentecost,  homeward,  at  the  time  that  the 
Moslems  were  summoned  to  evening  prayers  by  the 
minaret  calls. 

After  his  greeting,  on  arriving  at  his  abode,  his  first 
words  were  :  "  I've  seen  the  crowns  of  fire,  and  now 
comprehend  the  meaning  of  Pentecost,  where  men 
gathered  from  varied  climes,  heard  each  the  spirit's 
message  ir  his  own  tongue  !  The  Spirit  is  the  inter, 
preter !  " 

"  By  what  aid  came  this  revelation?  " 
"  God  and  the  Hospitaler." 

"  We  have  the  first  here  ;  let  us  call  the  other,  that 
the  temple  on  the  hill  be  made  to  feel  the  glow.  The 
time  is  opportune,  for  each  day  witnesses  new  tri 
umphs  of  our  cause." 


The  Coronation  of  the  Queen.  539 

When  the  knight  arrived  a  feast  was  in  progress. 
His  air  awed  those  to  whom  he  was  a  stranger,  and 
there  were  not  a  few  who  thought  within  themselves  • 

"  Is  he  a  prophet  ?  " 

Abruptly,  as  usual,  he  began  : 

"  Friends :  I  would  that  all  hearts  here  were  moved 
by  justice  to  enthrone  the  Queen  whose  praise  your 
frank  youths  have  been  sincerely  singing.  I  am  here 
to-day  to  proclaim  her  rights,  and  in  so  doing  I  shall 
appeal  to  that  sure  word  which  survives  when  all  else 
fails.  She  was  of  David's  royal  line  ;  the  noblest  one 
of  all  the  earth.  To  the  proof?  The  Christian  Scrip 
tures,  from  the  hands  of  Matthew  and  Luke,  present 
her  ancestral  descent.  These  apostles  wrote  as  God 
directed,  and,  after  all,  only  reaffirmed  that  already  set 
forth  in  the  most  carefully,  religiously  guarded  records 
of  all  antiquity,  the  Jewish  genealogical  tables. 

"  You  know  that  the  ancient  Jews  held  those  tables 
in  sacred  regard,  for  on  their  integrity  depended  the 
proof  of  the  things  to  them  most  dear,  as  they  be 
lieved.  By  them  every  Jew  could  trace  his  Abrahamic 
descent,  and  to  Abraham's  seed  were  all  the  great 
promises  of  the  covenant.  By  those  tables  they 
proved  their  title  to  the  land  of  promise,  Canaan. 
Every  Jew,  believing  himself  one  of  God's  chosen  peo 
ple,  and  that  his  advancement  and  the  advancement  of 
his  posterity  in  the  Divine  favor,  depended  on  the 
purity  of  the  blood  of  both,  felt  that  he  needed  the 
guidance  of  those  tables  to  preserve  him  from  any  ad 
mixture  with  alien  or  Gentile  blood.  The  Aaronic 
priesthood  was  hereditary  and  the  priesthood  was  in 
itial  in  the  religious  system  of  the  Hebrews.  Its  legiti 
macy  was  preserved  chiefly  by  these  hereditary  chart- 


540  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

ers.  Then  all  true  Israelites  looked  for  the  coming  of 
a  Savior,  Priest  and  King  to  bring  to  the  chosen  tran 
scendent  glory,  and  to  win  an  universal  dominion, 
marked  by  love,  joy  and  peace.  Every  Jew  knew  that 
Great  One  was  to  spring  from  the  house  of  David,  and 
all  within  that  Judaic  line  hoping  that  he  or  his  chil 
dren  might  be  near  akin  to  the  One  to  come,  carefully, 
constantly,  proudly  guarded  and  studied  these  records 
of  descent.  Birth  was  the  foundation  upon  which  all 
Jewish  institutions  were  founded.  '  So  all  Israel  was 
reckoned  by  genealogies'  They  lived  in  a  reign  of  blood, 
and  in  blood  to  be  Jewishly  thoroughbred  was,  they 
thought,  to  be  most  highly  favored.  They  had  not  yet 
discerned  the  law  of  the  new  dispensation,  which  de 
clares  all  men  akin  ;  a  dispensation  seeking  to  build  up 
a  superior  humanity  by  first  of  all  transforming  and 
exalting  the  inner  life.  By  the  revered  records  of 
these  Jewish  patriarchs,  both  holy  and  love-ladened, 
place  the  writings  of  Matthew  and  Luke,  and  with  con 
current  testimony,  unimpeachable  as  well  as  conclusive, 
the  legitimacy  of  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary  is  proven ! 
He  was  beyond  a  cavil  of  David's  king]}-  line.  There 
were  Christ-haters  who  contested  at  every  point  His 
claim  of  Messiahship.  They  forged  lies  freely;  they 
hurled  after  Him  slanders  innumerable ;  they  insin 
uated  that  He  was  born  in  fornication  ;  they  af 
fected  to  flee  from  Him  as  one  having  a  devil ;  they 
denounced  Him  to  Jewish  as  well  as  Roman  authori 
ties  as  a  liar,  a  seducer  of  men  and  a  traitor.  In  a 
word,  they  howled  Him  down  in  every  way  they  could, 
unabashed  by  the  splendor  of  His  baptismal  indorse 
ment,  unsilenced  by  the  awful  warnings  of  His  cross 
But  in  their  desperation  they  never  dared  to  challenge 


The  Coronation  of  the  Queen.  541 

the  records  which  proved  Him  '  the  son  of  David.'' 
Now  had  His  claims  rested  upon  His  relations  to  His 
earthly  father,  Joseph,  they  would  have  been  disproven. 
All  Jewry  would  have  quickly,  fiercely  proclaimed  Him 
a  pretender  and  not  in  the  family  of  promise.  The 
Christ  was  heir  of  David's  name  and  fame  because  His 
mother  was,  and  so  in  exalting  Him  you  crown  the 
saintly  woman  who  bore  Him  !  He  was  the  adopted 
son  of  Joseph,  type  of  all  His  followers,  adopted  sons 
of  a  Royal  Father.  He  was  legitimate  through  his 
mother,  type  of  all  his  followers,  brought  into  the 
royal  family  of  God  by  the  power  of  a  mystic  new 
birth. 

"  But  there  is  another  line  running  backward,  pre 
served  through  the  centuries  to  connect  the  first  Adam 
with  this  last  one.  This  line  runs  from  Christ  through 
his  mother  to  Eden.  Behold  the  august  truth  sus 
pended  by  that  chain  of  names  !  Names;  only  names 
of  the  dead  !  names  of  the  forgotten  !  Jesus  by  Mary 
is  linked  to  the  chain  !  It's  an  old,  old  chain,  but  yet 
it  has  gems  in  its  links.  Each  named  is  the  child  of 
another  living  before,  and  the  history  of  each  is  re 
corded  in  two  words,  'begat,'  'died.'  A  chain  of  dust ! 
One  man  precedes  another.  Each  in  turn  vanishes 
until  immortality  is  confronted  in  the  last  sentence : 
'  Adam,  who  was  the  son  of  God/'  The  first  mortal 
son  of  God  uncrowned  and  led  away  from  his  kingdom, 
by  a  woman,  to  death  !  The  twain  go  down  together, 
each  ruinous  to  the  other,  with  nothing  left  them  but 
a  hope  ;  and  that  hope  rested  upon  a  to  them  mys 
terious  promise  :  '  The  seed  of  the  woman  shall  crush  tht 
head  of  the  serpent  /'  It  would  have  staggered  their 
faith  had  one  told  them  that  in  God's  revenges,  all 


542  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

compensating,  all  healing,  she  that  led  down  was  of 
the  sex  that  should  lead  upward.  Out  of  their  dark 
ness  there  came  a  seeming  dawn,  and  Eve  cried  ec 
statically  at  the  birth  of  Cain  : 

" '  I  have  gotten  a  man  from  the  Lord  ! ' 

"  They  thought  he  was  a  token  of  renewed  favor 
and  probably  the  redeemer  from  the  curse.  Returned 
out  a  murderer,  and  introduced  them  to  the  supreme 
horror  of  humanity — death.  The  conflict  of  light  and 
darkness  went  on,  and  the  first  pair  tasted  death  them 
selves,  looking  along  the  horizon  of  unrealized  hopes 
to  the  last  and  waiting,  as  all  their  posterity  through 
painful  centuries  waited,  for  the  Man  that  was  to  save. 
The  long  years  with  leaden  tread  marched  on,  strug 
gles  amid  suffering  weighty  and  countless,  accompanied 
the  race  ;  of  them  all  woman  bore  the  heavier  part,  but 
she  kept  somehow  the  larger  hope.  Each  Jewish  mother, 
with  a  pride  of  sex  secretly  cherished,  watched  and 
longed  for  the  coming  from  herself  of  the  ONE  who  was 
to  lift  her  up  and  crown  her  queen,  indeed. 

"God  at  last  gathered  all  woman's  trustful  hopings 
into  one  great  answered  prayer,  and  deigning,  in  sov 
ereign  love,  His  marvelous  co-operation,  brought  forth 
another  and  a  perfect  Adam. 

"  We  are  informed  that  Joseph  and  Mary  went,  about 
the  time  of  Jesus'  birth,  in  compliance  with  Roman 
law,  to  Bethlehem  to  pay  their  personal  taxes.  The 
Roman  tax  lists  were  based  upon  the  records  of  fam 
ily  descent  so  far  as  concerned  the  Jews. 

"  To  make  the  collection  certain  beyond  the  possibil 
ity  of  any  one's  escape,  the  law  required  each  taxable 
subject  to  pay  his  allotted  tribute  in  the  city  of  his 
nativity.  The  father  and  mother  of  Jesus  were  cited 


The  Coronation  of  the  Queen.  543 

to  the  city  of  David.  Thither  they  went.  And  so  in 
the  providence  of  God  it  happened  triat  pagan  Rome 
was  summoned  to  the  cradle  of  the  infant  Savior  and 
made  unwittingly  an  attester  to  all  time  that  He  was 
of  a  family  by  right  recorded  among  those  descended 
from  great  David. 

"  The  son  and  the  mother  here  stand  or  fall  together. 
If  Mary  was  not  of  David's  line,  then  the  Son  she  bore 
was  not,  and  He  is  left  without  proof  of  being  of  the 
seed  of  David. 

"  Joseph  was  not  the  father  of  the  Christ  after  the 
flesh.  The  lives  of  mother  and  son  are  eternally  inter 
twined.  If  we  honor  one  we  must  needs  honor  the 
other;  abating  the  fame  of  one  we  degrade  the  other. 

"  Jesus'  claims  to  being  the  Messiah  depended  upon 
the  fact  that  His  mother  was  of  the  tribe  and  family 
royal.  The  absolute  requirements  of  prophecy  can 
only  be  met  in  the  Messiah  by  His  being  of  the  House 
of  David.  Jesus  himself  admitted  and  fairly  met  this 
necessity.  So  he  questioned  the  Pharisees  :  '  What 
think  yc  of  Christ?  Whose  son  is  he?'  'They  say 
unto  him,  the  Son  of  David.'  Admitting  this,  the 
Savior  propounded  the  question  involving  sonship 
and  spiritual  unity  with  God  which  His  questioners 
could  not  answer: 

" '  If  David  then  call  him  Lord,  how  is  he  son  ?  ' 

"'  Neither  durst  any  man  from  that  day  forth  ask 
Him  any  more  questions' 

"  HadHedenied  the  necessity  of  Davidic  origin  they 
could  have  overwhelmedHimwith  Scriptures.  Had  he 
not  been  of  that  family  the  most  ignorant  Jew  would 
have  promptly  rejected  His  claims  to  being  the  Hope 
of  Israel. 


544  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  Peter  the  apostle,  amid  the  soul-trying  solemnities 
of  Pentecost,  speaking  to  the  representatives  of  peo 
ple  from  all  parts  of  the  earth  and  for  all  time,  cried  : 
'  Men  and  brethren,  let  me  freely  speak  unto  you  con 
cerning  the  Patriarch  David  :  Being  a  prophet,  and 
knowing  God  had  sworn  with  an  oath  to  him  that  of 
the  fruit  of  his  loins,  according  to  the  flesh,  he  would 
raise  up  Christ  to  sit  on  his  throne.' 

"  This  orator  spoke  then  with  the  accuracy  of  one  in 
the  presence  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  not  only  made 
sincere,  but  illuminated,  by  the  torch  of  God.  This 
is  conclusive,  but  the  reiteratives  of  the  inspired 
writers  justify  us  in  presenting  their  cumulative 
evidence. 

"After  Peter  comes  the  learned  Hebrew  of  the  He 
brews,  Paul ;  before  his  conversion  to  Christianity  de 
claring  himself  to  have  been  '  afte  rthe  most  straight- 
est  sect  a  Pharisee ;' after  that  conversion,  rejoicing 
to  the  end  of  life,  as  of  the  true,  new  Israel  by  faith  in 
Him  that  makest  all  new. 

"  Twice  Paul  met  Mary's  son  mysteriously,  face  to 
face,  within  the  ver}'  confines  of  Glory.  Let  Paul 
speak  :  '  Paul,  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  separated 
unto  the  gospel  of  God,  concerning  His  Son,  our  Lord, 
which  was  made  of  the  seed  of  David  according  to  the 
flesh  !  ' 

"  Let  us  not  longer  make  a  mock  of  eternal,  holy  veri 
ties  !  Christ  was  of  David's  flesh  through  His  mother, 
and  born  to  be  a  real  king  of  a  real  kingdom,  not  a 
phantom  kingdom  !  That  kingdom  must  come;  yea, 
blessed  be  Jehovah  !  it  is  coming. 

"  Joseph,  the  putative  father  of  Jesus,  adopted  Jesuc 
as  his  son,  but  he  could  not,  by  that  legal  act,  make 


The  Coronation  of  the  Queen.  545 

his  foster  son,  whose  father  was  the  Holy  Spirit  of  the 
seed  of  David,  after  the  flcsli !  Jesus  received,  then, 
His  royal  blood  from  Mary,  and  bore  His  Kingly  title 
after  the  flesh  as  '  the  crown  wherewith  his  mother 
crowned  Him.'  Revelations  harmonize ;  Luke  and 
Matthew  must  therefore  agree  with  Paul  and  Peter. 

"  The  tables  of  Luke  and  Matthew  agree  down  to 
David's  time,  but  then  they  diverge,  until  they  are 
converged  in  Jesus,  through  the  undoubted  legitimacy 
of  Mary  as  a  descendant  of  David  and  the  adoption  of 
Jesus  by  Joseph,  a  scion  of  another  branch  of  the  same 
great  family.  Luke  gives  a  sentence,  all  luminous, 
but  first  puzzling :  'Jesus  himself  began  to  be  about  tliirty 
years  of  age,  being,  as  was  supposed,  the  son  of  JoscpJi, 
which  was  the  son  of  Heli.1  'Ah,  as  was  supposed!' 
sneers  the  infidel.  'As  was  supposed!  SUPPOSED!!' 
hatefully  shouts  some  insinuating,  ignorant  Jews  !  But 
now  let  us  fill  out,  naturally,  Luke's  statement,  'as 
was  supposed,  the  son  of  Joseph,  but  in  reality  the  son 
of  Heli.'  But  here  it  may  be  asked,  was  Jesus  the  son 
of  Heli?  It  is,  I  answer,  not  infrequently  in  the  Scrip 
tures  that  a  grandson  is  called  a  son.  Jesus  was  prob 
ably  the  grandson  of  Heli.  It  was  a  common  custom 
of  the  Jews,  except  in  cases  of  especial  necessity,  not 
to  record  the  names  of  women  in  tracing  lines  of  de 
scent.  Men  kept  the  books,  and  it  had  become  a  habit 
with  the  lords  of  creation  to  thrust  woman  into  the 
background.  Mary  was  too  insignificant  a  person, 
socially  considered,  in  her  time,  to  be  registered  in  her 
own  name  in  the  hereditary  charters.  Joseph  was  put 
in  her  stead,  as  her  representative.  There  was  not  any 
supposition  about  the  descent  of  Mary,  but  these 
scribes,  who  had  charge  of  the  books,  thought  it  were 


546  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

more  creditable  to  the  male  sex  to  record  Joseph  as  the 
father  of  Jesus,  and,  by  a  little  fiction,  suppose  him  to 
have  descended  through  the  former  from  Heli,  than  to 
say  Mary  descended  from  Heli  and  Jesus  descended 
from  Mary.  The  Romans  encouraged  this,  and  also  the 
politicians.  Men  were  the  only  ones  to  fight  or  pay 
taxes,  and,  as  political  factors,  were  strictly  watched  by 
those  in  authority.  Luke,  in  reality,  gives  Mary's  line. 
He  was  scholarly  and  accurate,  besides  that  a  physi 
cian,  and  we  judge  by  all  experience  that  there  is  that 
in  the  profession  of  medicine  which  makes  its  followers 
tender  toward  all  suffering,  consequently  especially 
tender  to  women,  the  largest  inheritors  of  the  pains 
that  beset  our  race.  Doctor  Luke,  like  those  of  his 
fraternity,  by  an  act  of  graceful  justice,  in  the  spirit 
of  Christianity  which  is  essentially  humane,  just,  and 
courtly,  accorded  gladly  the  woman  her  place.  But  the 
'  doomsday  books '  of  the  Jews,  containing  their  family 
trees  or  genealogies,  perished  with  the  perishing  of  the 
Jewish  nation.  Those  records  had  done  their  work; 
it  was  time  for  them  to  go.  They  had  become  by  misuse 
agencies  of  evil.  They  stood  long  enough  to  demon 
strate  that  God  works  through  cycles  vastly  wide,  and 
that  His  definite  promise  made  to  Adam,  Abraham  and 
many  of  their  successors,  had  finally  been  fulfilled,  at 
the  end  of  thousands  of  years,  with  a  miraculous  ex- 
plicitness.  The  records  disappeared  after  Christ  came, 
and  herein  was  a  providence  saying  to  the  watchers : 
'  He  is  come.  No  need  further  of  the  patents  of  His 
ancestry  to  aid  your  watching.'  More  than  that,  they 
being  gone,  no  other  could  arise  claiming  to  be  Shiloh. 
with  hope  of  convincing  any  by  appeal  to  proof  from 
the  records  of  ancestry. 

"  Shiloh  and  his  white    kingdom  have  come.     It  is 


TTie  Coronafion  of  the  Queen.  547 

ruling  the  earth ;  not  in  memories  of  its  mighty  dead, 
but  by  its  regal,  potent  virtues  and  charities.  The 
battering  rams  of  Titus  destroyed  wall  and  Holy  Tem 
ple,  but  thus  was  let  in  new  dawn.  Above  the  storm 
of  that  awful  conflict  the  spiritual  may  discern  in  living 
letters  the  mightly  words  of  God  which  dispelled  dis 
ordering  darkness  from  the  universe  at  the  beginning : 
'Let  there  be  light,''  and,  indeed,  Might  was.'  The 
obliterated  records  of  Jewish  ancestral  lines,  on  which 
alone  many  a  worthless  child  of  Abraham  based  his 
claims  to  superiority,  his  right  to  despise  and  neglect 
his  fellow  men,  his  justification  to  tyrannize,  and  finally 
his  hope  of  favor  with  God,  ceased  to  present  their 
sturdy  barriers  to  the  entering  in  of  a  better  hope. 
Then  came  in  the  beginning  of  this  new  era  ;  now  the 
patent  of  nobility  is  noble  character;  this  is  the  time 
to  be  marked  by  an  universal  recognition  of  universal 
brotherhood  in  a  kingdom  where  there  is  neither  Jew 
nor  Gentile,  bond  nor  free,  male  nor  female.  A  king 
dom  where  righteousness,  impartial  justice,  liberty, 
equality,  purity  and  humanity  are  to  be  the  regnant 
potencies.  In  this  kingdom,  how  fittingly,  Christ 
stands  as  the  king  and  ideal  of  man,  and  how  fittingly 
his  mother  supplements  his  sway  by  being  presented 
herself  to  all  womankind  as  a  queenly  ideal.  Let  him 
or  her  dispute  her  title,  who  can  surely  say  the  earth, 
in  this  redemption  period,  needs  no  such  sublime  epit-- 
ome  of  womanly  virtue  and  worthfulness. 

"  My  words  are  ended  for  to-day,  assembled  men  and 
women.  Some  of  thes£  things  spoken  may  seem  like 
deep  sayings,  but  I  leave  them  to  find  their  lodgment 
in  your  hearts  and  minds.  I  trust  them,  knowing  that 
Truth  has  a  sword  which  cuts  her  way,  each  sweep  of 
that  sword  making  light." 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

THE  "LIGHT  OF  THE  HAREM"  IN  "THETEMPL?  OF 
ALLEGORY." 

"  Would  I  had  fallen  upon  those  happier  clays, 
And  those  Arcadian  scenes     .     .     . 
Vain  wish  !     Those  days  were  never !  airy  dreams 
Sat  for  the  picture,  and  the  poet's  hand 
Imposed  a  gay  delirium  for  a  truth. 
Grant  it;  I  still  must  envy  them  an  age 
That  favored  such  a  dream  ;  in  days  like  these 
Impossible  when  virtue  is  so  scarce, 
That  to  suppose  a  scene  where  she  presides 
Is  tramontane,  and  stumbles  all  belief." 

— YOUNG. 

"  The  glory  of  the  Lord  came  from  the  way  of  the  east, 
and  the  earth  shined  with  His  glory.     Thou  son  of  man  show  the 
house  to  the  house  of  Israel,  that  they  maybe  ashamed  of  their  in 
iquities,  and  let  them  measure  the  pattern." — EZEKIEL,  xliii. 


Y  Cornelius  once  said  I  might  expend  the 
fortune  coming  from  my  grandfather,  Har- 
rimai,  as  I  chose." 

"Why,  that's  so  without  my  saying.  I 
did  not  court  your  grandfather,  nor  his  ownings,  and 
have  gotten  affluence  beyond  the  wildest  dreams  of  a 
lover  in  Miriamne's  self."  * 

"  I  think  the  old  church  on  the  hill  is  smiling  day  by 
day,  more  and  more." 

"I've  noted  the  improvement,  and  it  assures  me  our 


The  "  LigJit  of  the  Harem"  549 

hearers  are  growing.  A  meanly  kept  sanctuary,  wit 
nesses  of  starved  worshipers.  Some  churches  might  be 
called  stables  for  all-devouring,  nothing-giving,  lean 
kinc." 

"  I'd  like  to  be  brought  to  confession  ;  question  me  !  " 

"Question?  I  can  not  doubt  either  Miriamne  or  her 
doings;  to  question,  one  must  doubt." 

"Sir  Courtly!  But  I'll  flank  your  courtesy;  I've 
purchased  and  furbished  up  the  old  ecclesiastical  pile." 

"  I  might  have  guessed  it  was  Miriamne's  work ! 
Now,  good  Bishop  of  Bethany,  appoint  me  Rector." 

"  Churchman  forever  !     We'll  have  no  Rector." 

"No  Rector?     No  sermons  ?     No  congregation  ?" 

"  We'll  have  a  multitude,  if  we  can  get  into  the  place 
the  God-shine  ;  that  brightens  and  draws  ever." 

"Allurement  by  light!  A  new  device.  Are  we  to 
have  a  tryst  where  lotus-dreamers  may  take  sun-baths  ?  " 

"  Curiosity,  too  proud  to  question  directly;  travels 
around  with  banterings." 

"Incisive  Miriamne,  my  segis,  thin  as  paper,  is 
shredded  :  I  confess  !  " 

"  Confession  compels  pardon  and  counsel.  I'll  give 
both.  The  restored  sanctuary  is  to  be  the  capitol  of 
our  fraternity,  the  •'  Sisters  of  Bethany.'  " 

"  Capitol  ?  Are  you  inviting  the  Sultan  to  take  your 
homes  and  your  heads?  A  capitol  sounds  like  politics, 
revolution  and  things  governmental." 

"  There  is  to  be  war  and  a  revolution  ;  our  munitions 
are  to  be  solely  moral  agencies  ;  our  aim,  to  revolve  the 
world  around  toward  Paradisiacal  days.  I'd  have  part 
ing  streams  flow  out  from  Bethany  to  water  the  earth, 
and  sing  anew  the  jubilant  strains  of  Pison,  Gihon, 
Hiddekel  and  Euphrates." 


55O  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"Arcadia!  Alas,  how  sad  such  dreams,  because  so 
impossible  to  realize.  The  Arcadians,  so  charming  in 
the  poet's  pictures,  were,  in  fact,  very  warlike,  very 
loutish,  very  human." 

"  Say  not  that  what  has  been  must  always  be.  Moses, 
at  a  time  when  Israel  was  at  its  lowest  dip,  received  of 
God  a  pattern  of  the  Tabernacle.  The  God  of  Moses 
is  unchangeable.  I've  gotten  from  Him  a  pattern,  also." 

"  And  now  I  question,  as  you  wish  !  " 

"The  old  sanctuary  is  to  be  a  '  Temple  of  Allegory.' 
We  shall  attempt  therein  to  picture  the  finest  truths  by 
symbols  that  shall  make  them  tangible  and  irresistible." 

"A  splendid  ambition!  Possess  me  of  your  intrica 
cies  of  canon  and  catechism.  I'd  accept  them." 

"  You  overlook  our  simplicity  by  expecting  com 
plexity.  We  shall  not  walk  like  ghosts,  hampered  by 
tac  grave-clothes  of  the  dead,  though  august  forms. 
Seven  words,  enough  for  each  day  of  the  round  week, 
are  our  whole  profession  ;  'Humanity  toward  humanity % 
•with  godliness  toward  Cod'  " 

As  they  conversed,  they  walked  toward  the  old  sanc 
tuary  at  the  suburbs  of  Bethany,  and  now  were  draw 
ing  near  it. 

"  Behold,  Miriamne,  the  Hospitaler;  yonder." 

"  Yes,  I've  called  the  knights  hither  ;  the  Hospitaler 
will  dedicate  our  temple  to-day." 

"  But  has  he  ecclesiastical  authority  so  to  do  ?  " 

"The  same  authority  that  these  growing  shrubs  and 
vines  have  to  make  the  place  beautiful.  See,  I've 
pierced  the  walls  of  the  grirn  pile,  wherever  I  could,  to 
make  a  window.  The  Hospitaler  is  to  take  them  fora 
theme." 

"  Windows  for  themes  ?  " 


The  "  Light  of  the  Harem."  5  5 1 

"  He  is  able ;  and  understands  by  them  that  we'd 
have  let  into  musty  beliefs  floods  of  sweet  light." 

"  The  knights  are  singing  !  " 

"  Yes,  the  Grail  song,  '  Faint  though  pursuing-'  the 
dedication  has  commenced." 

The  words  sung  recited  the  grail  quest  ;  but  its 
chorus,  a  simple  one,  was  much  the  same  as  that  sung 
at  the  May-day  festivities  on  a  former  occasion.  The 
people  gathered,  heartily  joined  in  the  chorus.  When 
the  singing  ceased,  the  Knight,  in  his  usual  abrupt 
manner,  began  addressing  the  assembly: 

"  The  beloved  young  missioners  have  undertaken,  by 
means  of  their  handiwork  here,  to  strikingly  present  the 
noblest  truths,  and  they  have  taken  a  step  in  the  right  direc 
tion.  Love  for  the  pictorial,  manifest  especially  in  children, 
grows  with  growth;  those  adult  needing  and  seeking,  as 
they  grow,  finer,  grander  symbols.  Our  Divine  Lord,  who 
'  knew  men  '  and  '  knew  what  was  in  man,'  did  not  rebuke,  but 
rather  utilized  this  taste  of  man,  by  teaching  the  profound- 
est  things  of  His  Kingdom  by  means  of  it.  He  came  as 
close  as  close  could  be  to  the  very  core  of  human  life,  as  it 
was  or  to  all  time  will  be.  While  He  might  have  navigated 
Galilee  in  a  palatial  barge,  borne  over  be-flowered  waves  by 
perfumed  breezes  and  golden  wings,  with  the  aureoled 
spirits,  '  who  do  excel  in  strength,'  by  thousands,  to  escort 
Him,  He  chose  rather  to  journey  in  an  all-winning  humility, 
borrowing,  as  He  had  need,  the  old  boat  of  some  poor 
Tiberian  fisherman.  He  might  have  entered  Jerusalem, 
that  last  time,  in  an  Elijah-like  chariot,  dazzling  the  city 
with  splendors  surpassing  those  that  the  rapt  John  beheld 
on  Patmos  ;  but  the  King  of  Glory,  seeking  to  be  the  King  of 
all  men,  elected  in  that  supreme  moment  to  get  near  to 
men  by  approaching  the  august  courts  of  Herod  and  Caiphas, 
and  the  commons  as  well,  on  an  ass — an  humble  beast,  and 
borrowed  at  that.  All  this  allegorized  the  condescension 
and  sympathy  of  Jehovah.  The  universe  is  full  of  patterns  ! 
The  books  of  Nature,  Revelation,  and  Providence,  having  a 
common  authority,  are  constant  in  the  use  of  pictured 
truth.  Nature  gives  us  the  dawning  of  light  and  the  mar- 


552  TJie  Queen  of 'the  House  of  David. 

shaling  of  order  out  of  darkness  and  chaos.  There  is  the 
low  earth,  the  high  firmament,  ripe  summer  going  down  into 
the  winding  sheets  of  winter  and  up  to  the  resurrections 
of  spring.  Twig,  flower,  seed,  forest ;  insect  that  creeps, 
and  bird  that  flies  ;  the  speck-life  moved,  and  the  behe 
moth  ;  the  atom  and  the  planet-system  —  waning  and 
growing,  dying  and  living,  from  formlessness  to  beauty,  from 
time  to  eternity!  Then  take  the  inspired  picture-history: 
Eden's  fall,  Egyptian  captivity,  the  Red  Sea  passage,  the 
wilderness,  the  manna  by  the  way,  the  rest  by  the  Mount  of 
the  Law,  the  entrance  to  the  Promised  Land.  Lastly,  the 
Incarnate  One,  an  eternal  symbol,  the  realization  and  fulfill 
ment  of  all  preceding.  'Which  things  are  an  allegory,'  ex 
claimed  Paul,  with  a  sweeping  back-look.  The  three  books 
present  to  the  thoughtful  pictured  banners  innumerable,  to 
wave  him  onward.  This  temple  is  dedicated  to  the  purpose 
of  pointing  to  these  pictures.  Fitly  the  'angels  of  the 
mount '  have  determined  to  make  prominent  the  beautiful, 
patient,  modest  Mary,  Mother  of  Jesus.  And  to  study  her 
intelligently  or  profitably,  it  is  necessary  to  know  her  not  only 
as  an  historical  personage,  but  as  one  in  the  cavalcade  of 
symbolism  unfolded  by  Sacred  Writ  and  by  Nature.  She 
passes  by,  herself  every  way  unique,  the  exemplar  of  God  to 
those  aspiring  after  gentle,  devout  girlhood,  pure  and  wise 
maiden-life,  constant  wifehood,  and  patient,  consecrated, 
and  influential  motherhood.  Turn  again  to  the  Divine 
Word,  the  beacon  of  the  ages,  the  history  of  Provi 
dence,  the  solver  of  life's  problems.  It  is  made  up  of 
an  entrancing  array  of  symbols,  types,  prophetic  dramas, 
and  gorgeously  constructed  visions,  constantly  representing 
or  dextroucly  pointing,  by  countless  trophies  and  alle 
gories,  to  its  Ideal  and  Darling,  Mary's  Son,  who  '  spoke  as 
man  never  spake,  yet  who  without  a  parable  spake  nothing.' 
Though  the  literary  ages  are  strewn  with  long  winrows  of 
dead  books,  no  work  of  man  long  surviving  the  mutations 
of  time,  God's  picturesque  handiwork,  the  inspired  volume, 
as  potently  molds  the  thoughts,  charms  the  affections  and 
quickens  the  hopes  of  our  race  with  its  tokens,  types,  idyls 
and  illustration  as  it  did  when  the  earth  was  younger  by  far 
than  it  is  now.  It  is  a  living  fountain,  not  only  giving,  but 
retaining  its  immortality  !  It  abides  because  it  masterfully 
deals  with  the  things  that  pertain  to  the  wonderland  of  the 


The  "  Light  of  the  Harem"  553 

soul.  How  necessary  its  methods  is  at  once  apparent  to 
any  one  who  considers,  discerningly,  man  as  a  complex  union 
of  spirit  and  matter  ;  wonderful  forever,  but  '  very  good' 
since  the  All  Holy,  Great  High  Priest  performed  the  nuptial 
ceremony  of  that  union.  If  there  could  be  found  a  being 
able  to  reason,  as  a  man,  who  had  not  within  himself  this 
unity,  and  who  had  never  experienced  its  phenomena,  such 
would  at  once  combat  the  possibility  of  its  existence.  Even 
those  so  organized,  and  momentarily  realizing  the  jointure 
of  the  God-like  spirit  with  the  earthly  body,  the  higher  con 
descending  to  and  communing  with  the  inferior,  the  inferior 
at  times  over-persuading,  dominating  and  utterly  ship 
wrecking  its  great  spiritual  co-partner,  are  compelled  to 
admit  the  whole  as  being  a  fact  without  parallel,  alike  in 
scrutable  and  bewildering.  A  life-time  of  profoundest  in 
trospection  can  carry  the  greatest  mind,  herein,  only  to  the 
confines  of  new  wonders.  But  the  interest  in  the  study  of 
the  unwritten,  unvoiced  language  of  symbolisms  by  which 
the  wonderfully  united  twain,  soul  and  body,  confer  and 
commune  with  each  other  deepens  with  the  study.  What  a 
fine,  expressive,  rapid,  exact,  exalted  language  that  must 
be  !  To  each  well  understood  ;  without  their  arcana  un 
known,  unheard,  incomprehensible.  And  it  is  of  necessity 
all  symbol,  natural,  intuitive,  without  a  single  arbitrary  sign  ! 
This  sign-language  acts  by  symbol  in  the  royal  temple  of 
memory  and  imagination.  And  so  again  we  perceive  the 
representative,  picturesque  or  typical  is  the  medium  of  the 
tine,  the  deep  and  the  lofty  in  expressing  truth.  This  is  the 
soul's  language,  by  which  it  communes  with  whatever  else 
there  is  in  man,  through  which  it  receives  the  songs  of 
Heaven,  and  the  august  or  tender  messages  of  the  Spirit,  out 
of  the  deathless  land. 

"  When  this  sphere  of  ours  was  rolling  swiftly  onward 
through  the  shadows  of  night,  as  well  as  swiftly  downward 
through  darker  shadows  of  sin,  Divine  love  said  '  Let  there  be 
<ight.'  Then  the  hosts  of  heaven  saw  at  Bethlehem  a 
mother  and  babe  marking  the  place  of  world-dawn,  unfold 
ing  the  design  of  Deity  to  effect  redemption  by  touching  the 
face  of  man  at  infancy  ;  the  most  effective  because  the  most 
plastic  point  ;  through  motherhood  the  most  influential  be 
cause  the  tenderest  instrumentality.  The  never-to-be-for 
gotten  spectacle  thrilled,  with  a  new  ecstasy,  the  beings  of 


554  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

glory  whose  every  throb  of  life  is  joy.  They  tracked  the 
heavens  about  with  light  as  they  sped  out  to  keep  abreast 
the  rleeing  earth  and  shout  over  Bethlehem,  '  Glad  tidings  ! 
Gla.  1  tidings  ! '  They  saw  Eden  restored  through  the  advent 
of  a  new,  pure  home  ;  they  saw  a  mystic  covenant  between 
God  and  man  typified  in  the  child  begotten  of  a  human 
mother  in  conjunction  with  the  Eternal  Father.  By  this  there 
seemed  to  be  an  attesting  that  humanity  was  to  be  raised  to 
Divine  favor  ;  there  also  was  a  symbol  showing  the  value  of 
law;  for  through  the  incarnation,  Deity,  in  the  form  of  a  babe, 
became  submissive  to  law  administered  by  a  mortal  mother. 
"  He  is  blind  who  can  not  see  in  all  these  things  God's  pur 
pose  to  elect  some  of  His  creatures  to  be  His  co-laborers  in 
the  choicest  co-operations,  and  also  to  be  exemplars  of  what 
He  does  and  would  do.  These  things  being  so,  we  do  well 
to  learn  the  alphabet  of  His  goodness  from  His  elect  heroes, 
heroines  and  saints  ;  and  I  proclaim  to  day  my  innermost 
belief  in  Christ  as  the  argument,  logic  and  fruit  of  God's 
love  ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  I  praise,  as  one  enravished, 
the  character  of  her  who  was  God's  poem,  God's  perora 
tion  !  We  now  proclaim  this  temple  dedicated  to  the  pur 
poses  of  showing  forth  the  things  I  have  spoken." 

The  Hospitaler  abruptly  ceased  his  address,  as  he  be 
gan  it.  There  were  other  services  consisting  of  psalm- 
singing  and  prayers,  and  the  service  was  ended. 

As  the  congregation  dispersed,  the  young  missioner, 
Cornelius,  exclaimed  :  "  Miriamne,  the  Hospitaler  has 
awakened  me  as  from  sleep  by  God's  truth.  Oh,  the 
heavens  are  not  as  full  of  shining  stars  as  God's  truth 
is  full  of  beauty  "  It  seems  strange  that  men  like  my 
self,  and  wiser,  are  so  long  in  bringing  these  things  to 
their  minds.  You,  my  dear  little  mystic,  are  my  inter 
preter. 

"It's  just  as  I  told  you,  wife.  We  must  go  in  pairs. 
In  the  Egyptian  mythologies,  Osiris  had  his  Isis, 
Amen-Ra  his  Maut,  and  Kneph  his  Sate.  Thank 
God  I  have  my  adolescent  other  self !  " 


The  "  Light  of  the  Harem"  555 

"  I,  a  woman,  help  you  ?  My  sex  is  honored  by  the 
praise.  Are  they  worthy  of  all  they  need  ?  Is  it 
madness  to  seek  to  gather  all  women  having  gifts  and 
needs  into  a  helped  and  helping  fraternity  whose  creed 
is  a  fine  example?  If  I  help  Cornelius,  cannot  a  peer-, 
less  one  like  Mary  help  all  ?  " 

"  Pardon  the  thought,  but  one  word  haunts  me — 
idolatry  !  " 

"  Impossible  !  We  all  need  soul  company,  and  have 
room  within  for  such.  We  must  have  an  inner  popu 
lation  of  real  heroines  and  heroes  or  be  filled  with 
ghosts  and  myths.  The  empty  soul,  eaten  up  with 
self-worship,  goes  mad  ;  the  myth-possessed  becomes 
an  idolater.  If  we  harbor  the  God-like,  keeping  the 
highest  place  for  Deity,  our  inner  selves  will  be  no 
hideous  chambers  of  imagery,  but  a  counterpart  of 
heaven." 

"  But  some  have  fallen  into  putting  Mary  before 
Jesus,  and  so  we've  seen  the  advent  of  Mariolatry." 

"But  this  only,  and  surely,  here  I  know,  no  friend  of 
the  Divine  Son  can  dethrone  Him  by  honoring  her, 
aright ;  indeed,  as  He,  Himself,  did.  It  was  of  Him 
she  spoke  when  exclaiming:  '  My  soul  doth  rejoice  in 
God  my  Savior!'  Can  one  truly  honor  Him  and 
despise  and  ignore  the  woman  who  gave  Him  human 
birth  ?  Can  one  have  His  mind  and  forget  her  for 
whom  love  was  uppermost  to  Him  in  His  supreme  last 
hours?  Can  one  honor  her  aright,  and  yet  dethrone 
the  Son  whom  she  enthroned?  She  bore  Him,  then 
lived  for  Him.  She  honored  herself  in  bearing  Him, 
and  was  His  mother,  His  teacher  and  His  disciple. 
He  revered  her,  she  worshiped  Him.  Awed  by  His 
augustness,  she  was  yet  conscious  of  an  ownership  of 


556  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

His  greatness;  believing  in  His  divinity,  she  yet  en. 
joyed  the  nearness  to  Him  of  a  mother. 

"  I  can  not  but  believe  that  she  is  a  queen,  indeed, 
high  among  the  glorified  who  reign  with  God  !  I  ques 
tion  again  :  Who  ever  did,  or  could,  become  heretic  or 
carnal  by  sincerely  revering  the  peerless  woman  whom 
Christ  enthroned  on  His  heart?" 

"  I  know  at  least  that  the  fathers  at  imperial  and  pa 
gan  Rome  placed  a  representation  of  Mary  in  their 
Pantheon  when  public  policy  made  it  an  imperative 
necessity  to  overthrow  the  influence  of  the  lewd,  fan 
ciful  and  ungodly  ideals  that  had  been  set  up  therein," 
responded  Cornelius. 

"  The  world  is  a  Pantheon  full  of  corrupt  ideas.  Let 
us  raise  high  the  choice  ones  God  has  sent  us — But 
see,  yonder  is  the  wife  of  a  poor  old  Druse  camel-driver. 
She  was  once  a  sinner  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem. 
Now  she  is  a  Sister  of  Bethany,  allured  to  goodness  by 
our  Temple's  allegories  !  " 

"  A  woman  that  was  a  sinner,  a  scarlet  woman  ?  " 

"  Only  such.  No  ;  all  of  that  !  One  woman  ;  a  lost 
one?  How  little  to  man;  how  much  to  God  !  Had 
nothing  else  been  done,  heaven  would  have  been  set 
singing,  as  ever,  over  a  sinner's  return.  That's  reward 
enough  for  all  we've  attempted." 

"  Now  I'm  interested,  indeed  !  " 

"  Well  you  may  be,  when  you  hear  all.  We've  here  one 
once  a  harem  beauty,  who,  having  lost  her  power  to 
fascinate,  was  committing  her  life  to  that  hag-cunning 
belonging  to  old  women  who  supplement  their  decaying 
power  by  wickedness,  fox-like  and  serpentine." 

"  The  old,  old  story  ;  yet  I  thank  God  if  her  life  be 
sweetened." 


The  "  Light  of  the  Harem?  557 

"'  Hers  is  a  strange  story." 

"'  May  I  know  it  ?" 

"Yes;  it  is,  as  I've  gathered  it  in  scraps,  a  sad 
romance.  She  was  born  of  Georgian  parents,  among 
the  mountains  of  Armenia,  and  gifted,  in  her  youth, 
as  are  most  of  those  of  her  sex  in  that  country,  with  un 
usual  personal  beauty.  She  early  attracted  the  atten 
tion  of  the  monsters  who  dealt  in  human  flesh,  and  a 
Georgian  noble  unrighteously  claiming  her  family  as 
his  serfs,  bartered  away  Nourahmal  to  merchants  seek 
ing  recruits  for  Mameluke  harems.  She  became,  in 
time,  part  of  the  retinue  of  a  sheik  by  the  name  of 
Azrael,  a  desperate  adventurer,  who,  on  account  of  his 
blood-deeds,  was  called  by  his  followers  the  '  Angel  of 
Death.'  His  luxurious  and  desperate  way  of  living 
justified  his  claim  to  Turkish  extraction;  his  adroit 
ness  and  avidity  for  intrigue  stamped  him  as  a  Mame 
luke." 

"Nourahmal?  Azrael?  Why,  these  must  be  the 
same  of  whom  I've  heard  SirCharleroy  speak  ?  '  queried 
Cornelius. 

"  The  same  !  " 

"  She  comes  out  of  the  past  as  one  from  the  dead  !  " 

"  And  her  sti.ry  is  a  series  of  strange  events.  It  is 
as  follows  :  Azrael  suspected  her  of  having  abetted 
the  escape  of  my  father  and  Ichabod,  therefore  de 
termined  to  kill  her.  She  gained  a  temporary  respite 
through  having  saved  her  master's  life  from  an  assas 
sin  plotting  to  supplant  him  ;  though  she  periled  her 
own  in  so  doing. 

"  As  Azrael  awaited  her  recovery  from  the  wounds 
she  had  suffered  in  his  behalf,  he  devised  another  scheme 
which  he  hoped  would  compass  his  favorite's  destruc- 


558  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

tion  and  his  own  elevation.  He  was  ambitious  to  be 
Sherif  of  Mecca.  To  attain  that  honor  he  saw  he 
must  needs  do  something  to  enhance  his  popularity 
greatly  with  his  Mohammedan  followers,  and  so  con 
ceived  the  plan  of  getting  into  his  power,  Harrimai  of 
the  Jews  and  Adolphus  of  the  Christians.  His  purpose 
was  to  rack  those  two  leaders  into  apostasy  and  the 
betrayal  of  their  followers.  Had  he  succeeded,  the 
event  would  have  been  crushing  to  Jews  and  Christians 
east  of  Jordan.  He  promised  Nourahmal  her  freedom 
and  restoration  to  her  Georgian  home  if  she  aided  him 
in  his  design  ;  though  he  did  not  disclose  his  purpose 
to  her  beyond  that  of  securing  the  presence  of  Von 
Gombard  and  Harrimai  in  his  camp.  She  felt  that 
there  was  some  malign,  hidden  purpose  in  her  master's 
breast,  but  deemed  it  expedient,  at  the  outset,  to  seem 
to  co-operate  in  his  plan." 

"  But  how  was  the  sheik  using  his  strategy  against 
Nourahmal?  " 

"As  a  fiend!  He,  having  no  conception  of  a  friend 
ship  between  a  man  and  a  woman  that  was  pure  and 
free  from  intrigue,  suspected  the  relations  between  his 
favorite  and  Ichabod.  He  thought  the  two  only 
needed  the  opportunity  to  precipitate  into  perfidy.  He 
laid  his  plan  darkly,  and,  leaving  a  trusty  follower  to 
carry  it  out,  hastened  forward  to  Mecca." 

"  But  surely,  Nourahmal  was  not  what  he  thought 
her!" 

"  No  ;  though  training  her  as  a  plastic  child,  he  judged 
she  was  what  he  had  tried  to  make  her  ;  at  her  worst  she 
was.  But  let  me  continue.  The  assault  on  my  parents 
and  Ichabod,  on  the  road  between  Gcrash  and  Bozrah., 
was  the  opening  of  the  drama.  The  plan  then  was  to 


The  "  Light  of  the  Harem.1''  559 

seize  Rizpah,  and  under  pretense  of  negotiating  for  her 
ransom,  inveigle  Harrimai  into  the  hands  of  Azrael's 
followers.  Nourahmal  was  to  aid  in  this  by  affecting 
tears,  pleading  for  pity  and  suggesting  the  sending  for 
the  girl's  father." 

"  What  besetments  perilous  we  pass  through,  all 
unknown  to  us  !  Harrimai  and  your  parents,  to  their 
death,  never  suspected  the  devices  worked  against 
them  !  " 

"  Nor  dreamed  that  a  harem  favorite,  a  mere  girl, 
and  an  utter  stranger  to  them,  was  their  good 
angel !  " 

"  Good  angel  !      How  ?  " 

"  She  witnessed  the  assault  from  behind  a  sequester 
ing  wall,  in  company  with  a  follower  of  the  sheik,  com 
missioned  to  kill  her  instantly  if  she  faltered  in  the 
part  appointed  her.  This  infernal  guard  was  also 
charged  to  insinuate  into  her  mind  the  feasibility  of 
elopement  with  Ichabod.  If  she  could  be  compro 
mised,  Azraelknew  he  could  justify  her  death  to  those 
who  remembered  her  heroic  defense  of  himself.  That 
was  to  follow  as  soon  as  she  had  done  her  part  in  in 
veigling  Harrimai  to  Azrael's  camp." 

"  A  demonstration  of  a  personal  devil,  Miriamne." 

"  I'd  say  rather  of  an  overruling  God." 

"  How  fared  Nourahmal  after  Azrael's  chagrin?  " 

"  Cornelius  anticipates  me.  When  she  saw  Ichabod 
fall,  a  sudden  desire  for  liberty  for  herself  and  to  help 
the  imperiled  Rizpah,  prompted  her  to  drive  a  dagger 
into  the  heart  of  her  guard  and  cry,  '  Rescuers  come  ! ' 
That  cry  drove  the  remnants  of  the  assailers  of  Sir 
Charleroy  to  sudden  flight.  She  asserted  to  the  fugi 
tives  that  Laconic,  the  nc\v  runner,  just  passing,  had 


560  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

slain  her  guard,  and  so  allayed  suspicion  until  oppor 
tunity  of  escape  came.  She  soon  made  her  way  to 
Bozrah,  where  she  found  among  the  Christians  a  tem 
porary  home.  From  thence  she  drifted  into  Jerusalem." 

"'Twas  strange  she  did  not  turn  toward  Gerash." 

"  I  said  as  much  to  her,  but  desire  to  get  as  far  as 
possible  from  Azrael,  and  as  near  as  possible  to  the 
Holy  City,  of  which  Ichabod  had  so  glowingly  spoken 
to  her,  determined  her  course  ;  besides  that,  Ichabod 
being  dead,  Gerash  was  a  strange  place  to  her — Jerusa 
lem  seemed  to  her,  she  said,  near  heaven." 

"  Had  she  only  known  it,  she  was  near  heaven  in 
Bozrah,  being  near  Von  Gombard." 

"  Her  story  weaves  a  chaplet  for  his  tomb  to-day; 
for  now  it  appears  that  from  Nourahmal  the  old  priest 
foreknew  the  intention  of  those  Saracens,  who  assailed 
the  city  that  day  I  was  with  him.  Though  they  designed 
capturing  him  to  put  him  on  the  rack,  he  rushed  into 
the  conflict,  crying,  '  Kill  the  foe  with  kindness  ! '  The 
assault  would  have  been  fatal  to  Bozrah,  too,  had  not 
the  leader  of  one  of  the  invading  bands  ordered  a  re 
treat,  just  at  the  point  of  victory.  This  was  indirectly 
Nourahmal's  work ;  for  that  leader  had  been  won  by 
her  to  esteem  Christians  far  enough  to  be  unwilling  to 
murder  them,  though  not  adverse  to  plundering  them. 
That  was  a  great  improvement  in  a  Mohammedan." 

"  And  Nourahmal  knows  from  you  that  you  are  Sir 
Charleroy's  daughter?  " 

"Yes,  by  that  I  won  her  confidence.  Indeed,  she 
began  this  confidence  at  first,  by  saying,  '  I  love  you, 
because  you  so  remind  me,  angel  of  the  mount,  of  a 
Christian  knight,  who  was  the  dear  friend  of  the  only 
pure  and  unselfish  man  I  knew  in  all  my  youth  !  Such 


The  "  Light  of  the  Harem"  561 

words  led  to  questions  and  explanations.  The  rest  you 
know." 

"  And  you  have  allured,  comforted  and  enlightened 
her?" 

"  By  God's  help,  I  have.  I  have  told  her  of  the  uni 
versal  sisterhood  of  all  women,  who  take  as  their  ex 
emplar  the  worthy  mother  of  the  One  who  proclaimed 
the  universal  brotherhood  of  man.  This  knowledge  is 
her  joy  and  inspiration.  When  I  am  with  her,  she 
never  tires  of  hearing  of  the  '  Queen  of  David's  House,' 
the  mother  of  mothers." 

"But  how  have  you  allured  her  hither,  Miriamne?" 

"  You  have  questioned  curiously  with  your  eyes,  at 
least,  concerning  those  gated  alcoves  and  curtained 
balconies  in  our  Temple  of  Allegory.  They  helped 
her!" 

"  Since  you  say  they  are  not  '  Confessionals, 'as  I  call 
them,  tell  me  what  they  are  ?  " 

"  '  Rock  clefts  '  our  sisterhood  calls  them  ;  some  are 
doors  to  little  adjacent  chapels;  some  are  quiet  resting 
places,  where,  in  impressive  solitude,  souls  in  prayer 
may  find  the  mountain  manna,  for  which  the  Savior 
sought  in  many  a  lone  night-watching;  and  some  are 
places  where  are  presented,  under  entrancing  symbols, 
exalting  truths." 

"Words  have  failed  to  turn  the  world  to  faith; 
may  signs  do  better." 

"  I've  put  truth  into  visible  form,  that  they  who  get 
it  here  may  learn  that  truth  thus  is  only  up  to  its  full 
might.  I'd  have  my  followers  believe  in  visible,  not 
phantom,  truth;  so  believing,  truth  will  not  be  a  ghostly 
proclamation,  the  toy  of  the  mind,  but  a  force  moving 
hands  and  hearts  !  " 


562  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"And  you  have  met  Nourahmal's  case?" 

"Yes;  fully  in  what  we  call  the  'Lover's  Bower,' 
yonder.  Remember  she  has  been  the  victim  of  mock 
love,  from  first  to  last." 

"The  'Lover's  Bower'?" 

"Behold  the  trophy  and  the  bower!  There  is  Nou- 
rahmal,  now  rapturously  contemplating  the  picture  of 
Joseph  putting  the  ring  of  espousal  on  the  hand  of  the 
Virgin  Mary." 

"Nourahmal?  That  gray-haired,  hard-faced  woman, 
holding  the  hand  of  a  charming  girl  ?  " 

"  That  is  Nourahmal ;  the  younger  woman  is  Beu- 
lah,  her  grand-daughter ;  they  two  are  almost  insepa 
rable  now." 

"  An  oleander  by  a  limestone  cliff !  And  so  she 
takes  her  station  by  a  scene  of  betrothal,  forgetting  that 
hymen's  altars  can  be  fired  by  youth  alone  !  " 

"  The  world  says  so  ;  but  yet  a  disappointed  life  may 
sometimes  learn  why  it  has  been  a  failure,  by  study 
ing  the  ashes  of  time  gone  in  the  light  of  quickened 
memories." 

"  What  finds  Nourahmal  there?" 

"  Golden  lessons.  First  for  her  grand-daughter,  her 
idol.  She  never  tires  of  saying  before  yon  picture  to 
that  maiden  now  her  charge  :  '  My  flower,  my  lamb, 
be  always  as  pure  as  the  espoused  of  Joseph,  and  you 
will  be  a  jewel  which  your  husband,  if  he  be  a  true 
man,  will  ever  proudly  wear  on  as  his  heart,  My  flower, 
my  lamb,  no  woman  should  leave  all  for  any  man, 
unless  she  is  certain  of  finding  in  him  father,  mother, 
brother,  sister,  companion,  as  Mary  found  in  Joseph  ! ' ' 

"  But  how  did  these  things  bless  Nourahmal  her- 
self?" 


The  "  Light  of  the  Harem"  563 

"Love  counterfeited,  blasted  her  life.  She  believed 
that  it  was  only  gross  passion  masquerading  in  attract 
ive,  delusive  colors.  So  believing,  it  was  difficult  to  tell 
her  of  the  Love  of  God  so  she  could  realize  its  wealth. 
Love  was  only  great  selfishness,  excited  and  persistent, 
to  her  mind.  It  was  something  to  teach  her  that  the 
genuine  affection  was  utterly  otherwise  ;  in  fact  the 
foundation  and  crown  of  all  the  noblest  sentiments  im 
planted  by  God  in  His  choicest  creations. 

"  I  have  sought  to  allegorize  here,  true  affection  in  all 
its  perfection.  It  seems  to  be  fitting  to  do  so,  for  my 
ideal  queen  was  ruled  by  it.  She  never  could  have 
loved  to  the  depths  she  did,  as  a  mother,  if  she  had  not 
had  within  her  being  all  the  possibilities  of  woman's  love. 
And  in  a  rightly  balanced  woman  love  is  all-impressive, 
all-controlling  ;  with  her  worship  is  loving  and  loving  is 
worship.  Here  I  shall  seek  to  refine  that  sentiment  in 
the  hearts  of  my  sisters  until  each  becomes  an  evangel  in 
its  behalf.  Then  mankind  will  understand  the  wealth 
a  woman  bestows  on  the  man  that  wins  her.  There 
is  nothing  in  her  career  that  surpasses  it,  except  that 
sovereign  act  wherein  she  lays  herself  a  convert  on 
God's  altar.  I  am  seeking  to  exalt  this  sacred  act,  the 
loving  of  the  gentler  sex,  until  all  men,  brought  to 
revere  it  as  they  ought,  shall  become  true  knights  ;  until 
society  shall  be  of  one  mind  in  crying  traitor  to  every 
man  that  contemns  it  in  wedlock,  and  ready  to  lash 
naked  around  the  world  every  betrayer  who  awakens  it 
in  innocency  to  lead  it  astray." 

"  I  can  only  again  exclaim,  oh  !  how  full  of  flowers 
and  honey  is  my  Miriamne's  creed  and  gospel !  " 

"  And  the  churchman  so  exclaims  because  I've  put 
love  where  God  put  it,  at  the  front  of  religion's  cohorts  ! 


564  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

Can  there  be  a  religion  worth  the  name  that  does  not 
masterfully  meet  the  requirements  of  the  relations  most 
sacred  between  human  beings?" 

As  she  spoke  she  led  her  husband  under  the  splendid 
painting  of  Joseph  espousing  Mary,  toward  the  en 
trance  of  the  bower,  remarking:  "This  vestibule,  from 
the  Roman  word  Vesta,  Goddess  of  Purity,  is  suggest 
ive.  Rome  placed  Vesta  among  the  household  gods, 
and  was  wont  to  have  an  altar  at  every  outer  door.  If 
Purity  guard  the  door,  Light  and  Love  will  dwell  within. 
See  the  laurel,  emblem  of  victory,  as  the  ancients  put 
it  by  Purity's  altar;  so  do  I.  Love,  when  pure,  is  all- 
victorious  ! " 

"  Miriamne,  these  old  truths  seem  to  me  very  charm 
ing  as  you  now  present  them  ;  but  can  Nourahmal  and 
others  like  her  enter  into  their  meaning?  " 

"  A  pious  saint  of  our  church  says  that  the  star  which 
guided  to  Bethlehem  finally  sank  into  a  spring,  where 
it  may  be  yet  seen  by  women  if  they  be  pure." 

As  they  thus  communed  he  passed  through  an 
arched  doorway,  and  was  admitted  to  a  grand  court, 
three  sides  of  which  were  inclosed  by  the  temple  and 
two  of  its  wings,  the  fourth  side  hedged  by  palms, 
vine-interlaced.  The  sky  was  the  roof,  the  carpet  the 
floor  of  that  country.  Just  in  front  of  the  palm-hedge, 
on  a  grassy  hillock,  conspicuous  beyond  all  else,  was 
a  colossal  stone  face.  It  seemed  as  if  it  had  emerged 
from  the  earth,  bald  of  all  life — desolation  expressed  in 
mute  stone. 

"  Astarte  here  !  "  exclaimed  Cornelius. 

"Yes ;  that's  part  of  my  Bashan  inheritance,  from 
Kunawat,  the  land  of  Job." 

"  A  woman  and  a  devil  beset  him  ;  (the  two  are  in  this 


The  "  Light  of  the  Harem."  565 

face,  methinks).  Its  hideousness,  as  its  import,  seems 
inappropriate  in  Love's  Bower." 

"  Yes,  'tis  hideous  now,  though  once  the  face  had 
beauty.  It  is  not  futile  for  young-love  to  remember 
that  time  gouges  deformity  into  beautifulness,  nor  far 
all  to  remember  how  the  Kings  of  the  East  in  Moses' 
time  overthrew  the  Rephaim,  the  fallen  giant  followers 
of  the  goddess.  The  East  is  the  home  of  light,  and 
light  is  fateful  to  evil  lives.  Where  are  the  Astarte- 
devotees  now  ?  " 

As  the  man  listened  his  eyes  wandered  to  the  place 
where  the  palm  grove  came  up  against  the  temple 
wing,  and  there  he  observed  a  purling  ribband  of  water. 

"  Cornelius  sees  my  poem  of  silver.  It  comes  from 
a  grove  of  cedars  and  sharon  roses,  out  of  a  spring  in 
the  bosom  of  a  hill.  Look  the  other  way.  It  passes 
under  the  alcove,  under  the  temple  wall;  a  shcrt,  dark 
passage  brings  it  to  liberty,  ending  in  the  Virgin's 
Pool  of  Kiclron.  The  sun  allures  it  up  to  the  clouds 
at  last.  But  listen  ;  it  sings  as  it  runs!  " 

"  I  hear  many  blending  melodies." 

"Do  you  see  that  canopied  dais?  There  the  in 
structor,  or  preacher  if  you  will,  stands.  The  stream 
passes  near  it,  getting  impulse  by  a  fall ;  true  love  is 
speeded  when  it  runs  by  truth.  That's  my  lesson. 
Then  there  are  /Eolian  harps  this  side  and  that  of  the 
dark  alcove,  the  latter  the  type  of  the  tomb." 

"  But  why  ?  " 

"  True  love  has  music  both  sides  of  the  grave." 

"  Mystic  !  " 

"  Interpreter,  say." 

"But  I  hear  the  songs  of  birds?" 

"There  they  are,  this  side   the    dark  exit  :  but    in  a 


566  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

cage,  supported  above  the  current  by  an  hour-glass  and 
sickle." 

"  Grim  emblems." 

"Yes  ;  but  it's  a  grim  truth  that  love's  joy  notes  here 
are  caged,  hampered  and  transitory.  The  hour-glass 
and  sickle  are,  when  those  notes  are  sung,  ever. 

"  Look  to  the  West." 

"  I  look,  and  see  nothing  but  the  picture  of  a  sun 
set." 

"Yes,  and  that  curtains  the  '  Rest  of  the  Aged'  ia 
our  temple." 

"  But  whither  am  I  led  by  these  words  ?  " 

"Led  to  look  toward  sunset,  for  morning,  by  faith. 
You  remember  the  Christ  was  never  old  ;  neither  are 
they  who  draw  their  life  from  Him.  The  'Ancient  of 
Days  '  not  only  has,  but  gives,  eternal  youht.  Oh,  there 
were  young  men  at  His  sepulcher ;  yet  those  angels 
could  count  their  years  by  centuries  !  Let  the  hour 
glass  make  record  and  the  sickle  reap  ;  the  passion 
flower  recalls  a  vernal  life,  where  the  oldest  saints  are 
the  youngest,  where  all  existence  is  growth,  refresh 
ment,  glory,  exultation  !  There,  love  is  law  and  law  is 
love,  and  to  love  is  to  live  and  to  live  is  to  love.  We 
get  a  breath  of  this  life  here  as  we  enter  the  vicinage 
of  the  immortal  pair,  Jesus  and  Mary  ;  and  we  get  a 
distant  view  of  the  whole  from  the  mountains  of  the 
gospel." 

"  I  believe,  and  yet  sometimes  start  back  at  the 
question,  '  What  if,  after  all,  at  the  end  almost  of  eter 
nities  there  come  monotony,  decadence,  satiety — 
death?'  Next  after  hell,  and  nigh  as  horrible,  is  anni 
hilation  ;  and  worst  of  all,  eternal  existence  with  noth 
ing  for  which  to  strive — a  living  death  !" 


The  "  Light  of  the  Harem:'  567 

They  say,  that  in  Egypt,  a  palm  bowed  to  give  shade 
to  the  mother,  Mary  ;  while  the  aspen  refused  to  he\ 
any  comfort.  Then  Christ  blessed  the  palm  and  it 
became  the  fruitful  evergreen,  while  the  aspen  leaf  is 
fated  to  the  end  of  time  by  constant  tremblings  to 
betoken  the  agues  of  a  cursed  life.  But,  under  the  sun 
in  submission,  our  aspen  lives  are  turned  to  palms  ! 
We,  having  His  life,  need  never  tremble  at  death,  for 
we  shall  ever  throb  with  a  loving  like  His." 

"  But  there  are  many  conditions  and  needs  to  woman 
kind.  Let  us  speak  of  these,  since  the  present  is  hers, 
the  future  God's." 

"  The  knights  vainly  tried  swords  ;  my  King  prom 
ised  to  draw  all  men  to  Himself.  You  told  me  how  Sir 
Galahad,  the  pure  knight,  had  made,  about  the  Holy 
Grail,  when  he  found  it,  a  chest  of  precious  stones 
and  gold.  Now,  I've  found  the  virgin  pattern  of  per 
fection,  representative  of  the  human-like  beating  heart 
of  God.  Here  I've  set  her,  exalted  her.  This  shall  be 
her  golden  precious  palace.  Though  dead,  here  shall 
be  presented  in  the  grandeur  of  her  character,  the 
sweetness  of  her  power.  By  and  by,  it  may  come  about 
that  all  mankind  akin,  shall  make  it  the  chief  duty  of 
Church  and  State,  to  care,  with  a  loyal  tenderness,  for 
all  women,  all  children,  from  first  and  last ;  that  not  one 
such  shall  be  left  miserable.  That  will  be  the  world 
obeying  the  Crucified's,  '  Behold  thy  mother.'  " 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 
CROWN    JEWELS. 

"The  VIRGIN  MARY  unquestionably  holds  forever  a  peculia; 
position  among  all  women  in  the  history  of  redemption.  Perfect!) 
natural,  yea,  essential  to  a  sound  religious  feeling,  it  is  to  associate 
with  Mary,  the  fairest  traits  of  maidenly  and  maternal  character, 
and  to  revere  her  as  the  highest  model  of  female  love  and  power." 
— PROF.  PHILIP  SCHAFF'S  Church  History. 

HERE'S  a  footman  at  the  door;  the  good 
man  that  talks,  I  think ;  he  would  speak 
with  Cornelius." 

With  such  words,  at  sunrise  one  morn 
ing  a  few  weeks  after  the  May-day  service,  the  mission- 
ers  of  Bethany  were  aroused  by  an  attendant.  Quickly 
robing  himself,  the  young  chaplain  went  forth,  and, 
sure  enough,  the  Hospitaler  stood  before  him. 

"  Selamet ;  but  what  haste  brings  our  ever-welcome 
friend  so  early?  " 

"  To  relieve  your  minds  !  I've  purchased  immunity.1 
The  Mameluke  sheik,  at  Jerusalem,  has  secured  the 
Sultan's  revocation  of  the  order  of  razing  and  banish 
ment,"  answered  the  knight.  Cornelius  gazed  at  the 
Hospitaler  with  anxiety,  questioning  within  himself  as 
to  whether  the  knight  had  taken  leave  of  his  reason  or 
not. 

The  abrupt  soldier-priest  perceiving  the  perplexity 
of  his  hearer  broke  forth :  "  Why  the  edict  that  the 


Crown  Jewels.  569 

Temple  on  the  hill  be  despoiled,  and  the  'Angels  of 
the  Mount '  be  summarily  driven  out  of  Syria,  has  been 
rescinded;  the  '  Faithful,'  as  those  infidels  style  them 
selves,  have  been  converted  ;  seen  a  great  light  which 
came  by  mighty  gold." 

"All  Saints  defend  us  !  I  did  not  hear  of  this.  Tell 
me  all !  "  exclaimed  Cornelius. 

"  Not  now ;  the  peril  is  past.  I  knew  it  was  im 
pending  sometime,  and  supposed  ye  did.  I  prom 
ised  a  reward,  if  time  were  given.  I  got  money  help 
from  foreign  knights.  The  vandals  took  it  with  a 
mighty  thirst,  and  then  with  a  great  show  of  piety 
promised  toleration." 

"  I  see,  as  usual  with  them,  great  gain  with  godli 
ness  is  contentment  ;  but  what  are  we  on  the  mount 
to  do?'' 

"  Go  on  ;  the  Sultan  isn't  God,  nor  his  sheik  the 
Devil." 

"The  Hospitaler  comforts.  Now  let  us  enter  and 
breakfast  together,  that  we  may  get  wisdom  by  con 
ferring." 

"I  may  not  tarry  longer;  I  staid  all  night  without 
the  city's  wall  so  as  not  to  be  delayed  by  awaiting  the 
gate-opening.  I  must  be  with  my  companions  by  the 
time  the  Moslems  have  ended  their  first  prayers,  or  my 
comrades  will  be  alarmed.  I'll  return  to-morrow." 

Another  dawn,  another  noon,  and  another  sunset, 
came  and  went;  but  the  knight  did  not  reappear  at 
Bethany.  The  chaplain  vainly  tried  to  suppress  his 
anxiety.  He  feared  some  treachery  on  the  sheik's 
part.  Again  and  again  the  former  went  to  the  house 
top  to  look  along  the  Jerusalem  road.  It  was  a  hot 
June  day  ;  the  watchings  flushed  the  young  man's  face 


The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

but  fears'  rigors  in  the  heart  paled  it.  He  was  a 
picture  of  misery.  Darkness  followed  sunset ;  then 
came  tidings : 

"  There's  a  company  with  garlands  and  torches  com- 
ing  around  the  bend  !  " 

The  news  was  brought  by  a  company  of  Sisters  of 
Bethany.  The  missioner  was  excited,  yet  reasoned  ; 

"  Garlands  and  torches  !  Their  bearers  can  not  have 
baleful  report  nor  evil  designs." 

The  visitants  quickly  arrived,  and  singing  a  rounde 
lay,  encircled  the  house  of  Cornelius  and  Miriamne. 
With  delight  the  latter  recognized  the  Hospitaler  and  his 
companion  knights.  With  them  were  a  number  of  the 
friends  of  the  new  movement  at  Bethany.  They  also 
observed,  standing  by  his  camel,  a  little  aloof,  a  tall, 
gaunt  man,  garbed  as  a  Druse  ;  by  him,  an  elderly  wo 
man,  and  also  a  maiden. 

"  'Tis  Nourahmal  and  her  grand-child  !  "  whispered 
Miriamne,  following  her  husband's  questioning  eyes. 

"  The  maiden  wears  the  flower  crown  of  a  bride,  and 
see,  there  is  a  young  man  by  her  side  !  " 

The  Hospitaler  interrupted  their  converse  : 

"  I've  kept  my  promise  to  the  '  Angels  of  the  Mount ' 
and  to  God.  I'm  here,  and  to  celebrate  a  propei 
thanksgiving !  " 

"Welcome!  Now  command  us,"  exclaimed  Miri 
amne.  "  Yea,  welcome,  though  coming  in  mystery  !  " 

"Another  surprise,  good  chaplain?  Well,  'tis  fit 
ting,  since  this  one  is  cheering.  There  was  need  of 
offset  to  thy  painful  astonishment  of  yesterday.  I've 
trapped  a  wolf  for  our  festivities." 

"A  wolf!"  exclaimed   Miriamne. 

"Yes,  even    the  shiek.     He  swore  that    he'd  make 


Crown  Jc^vels.  571 

all  Bethany  bald  by  fire  and  sword  if  it  were  at 
tempted  here  to  establish  a  Christian  church.  To 
him  I  explained  that  the  work  on  the  hill  was  festal. 
Praise  God,  it  is  to  be  such,  to  all  eternity!  And 
Miriamne's  disavowal  of  the  title  church,  the  use  of 
the  appellations  'Pool  of  Bethesda,'  '  House  of  Mercy/ 
'  Temple  of  Allegory,'  and  the  like,  by  your  followers 
in  th:  city,  concerning  your  place  of  gathering,  helped 
the  righteous  diversion.  I  finished  the  argument  by 
parading  with  my  cortege,  as  you  see  us  now.  In 
deed  I  even  asked  the  sheik  to  come  to  the  wedding  !  " 

"A  wedding?  " 

"  The  cruel  sheik  invited  ?  " 

"  T\vo  questions  and  two  questioners  to  be  answered 
with  more  surprises.  Nourahmal's  grand-daughter, 
Beulah,  is  to  be  joined  to  a  Jewish  convert !  I  asked 
the  sheik  to  attend  with  us  as  one  of  her  next  akin  ; 
for  I  believe  him  to  be  a  son  of  Azrael,  though  he 
denies  that  parentage,  as  well  he  may,  since  the 
'  Angel  of  Death  '  was  strangled  at  Bagdad  for  treason. 
Be  assured,  Miriamne,  the  young  Mohammedan  will 
not  be  present  at  our  ceremonies  to-night !  " 

"  Will  wonders  never  cea:,e  ?  "  spoke  Cornelius,  at  a 
loss  to  know  what  to  say. 

"  No.  Let  us  be  going  now,"  abruptly  spoke  the 
Hospitaler. 

"  Do  you  return  to  the  city  so  soon?"  queried  Miri 
amne. 

The  question  was  answered  indirectly  : 

"  Let's  to  the  temple,  or  '  House  of  Bethesda.'  I've 
taken  the  liberty  to  order  its  illumination.  Come,  we'll 
see  how  its  jasmines  climb  on  its  sturdy  walls  by  the 
light  of  the  torches  kindled  for  hymen  I" 


572  TJie  Queen  of  tJie  House  of  David. 

So  saying,  the  Hospitaler  turned  in  the  direction 
mentioned,  and  all,  including  the  missioners,  followed 
him.  The  scene  was  fairy-like.  There  were  lights  and 
flowers  and  songs.  The  feasters  from  Jerusalem  were 
in  holiday  attire,  and  those  of  the  villagers  that  joined  in 
the  concourse  were  hearty  participants  in  the  festivities. 

Arriving  at  the  temple,  the  Hospitaler  led  Beulah 
toward  the  speaker's  dais. 

"Will  not  the  camel-driver  enter?"  questioned  the 
knight  of  a  companion. 

"  No  ;  he's  half  way  back  to  the  city  by  this  time." 

"Stand  by  thy  other  self,"  said  the  knight  to  the 
Jewish  groom. 

The  latter  obeyed  with  alacrity ;  his  zeal  and  his 
bashfulness  precluding  grace  of  action. 

"  Four  hands  clasped  ;  crossed,"  said  the  Hospitaler. 

The  twain  did  as  commanded,  the  youth  with 
avidity,  the  maid  with  a  timorous,  modest  reserve. 
The  touch  of  each,  electric  to  the  other,  was  recorded 
in  their  faces,  over  which  passed  rapidly  a  poem  of 
emotion.  The  audience  became  silent,  hushed  by 
admiration  akin  to  adoration.  The  old,  old,  yet  ever 
new,  ever-entrancing  spectacle  of  love's  full  crowning, 
brought  to  all  minds  the  splendor  and  holiness  of  that 
royal  gift  which  finds  in  earth  its  completest  unfold- 
ment  in  wedlock.  Each  of  the  auditors,  conscious  of 
admiration  of  the  presentment,  was  also  conscious  of 
self-approving.  There  is  a  cleansing  of  conscience  like 
that  which  follows  prayer  in  the  act  of  heartily  appro 
bating  the  thing  which  is  good  and  beautiful.  With 
the  espoused  for  his  inspiration  and  his  background  of 
light,  the  Hospitaler,  with  his  usual  abruptness,  began 
addressing  the  assembly: 


Crown  Jewels.  5  73 

"  You  of  the  East  hear  best  when  your  eyes  are  treated 
together  with  your  ears,  hence  I  speak  at  this  time,  most 
propitious,  of  themes  pertinent.  You  have  heard  how  the 
ancient  Romans  named  this  month,  deemed  by  them  favor 
able  to  marriage,  Junonius,  in  honor  of  their  chaste  and 
prudent  goddess  of  conjugal  life.  She  was  the  Hera  of  the 
Greeks,  the  omy  lawfully  wedded  goddess  of  all  their 
mythologies.  The  myths  prove  that  those  pagans  discerned 
the  potency  and  beauty  of  holy  wedlock.  They  polished 
jewels  and  wove  girdles  for  its  personifications,  and  to-night, 
in  this  temple  dedicated  to  womanhood  at  her  best,  I'd  take 
the  girdle  and  crown  and  place  them%pon  the  Queen  of 
Women,  the  peerless  Virgin.  For  such  a  real  woman  the 
ancients  were  seeking  when  they  had  their  dream  of  the 
myths.  She  was  what  they  yearned  for,  and  her  exaltation 
as  the  representative  of  all  that  she  truly  did  represent,  will 
be  found  of  lasting  profit  to  all.  Behold  her,  an  orphan 
girl,  yet  by  faith  having  an  Eternal  Father.  As  a  girl,  ab 
horring  waywardness  ;  as  a  woman,  therefore,  free  from  wan 
tonness.  Mark  me,  ye  maidens,  the  wayward  becomes  the 
wanton.  Coquetry  brushes  the  down  from  the  cheek  of 
the  peach,  and  she  that  frivolously  plays  with  passion  in  the 
morning  will  be  likely  to  seek  the  groves  of  Astarte  at  noon. 
Our  ideal  woman  reached  maidenhood's  roses  all  portion 
less,  as  world-help  is  counted,  but  with  the  inestimable 
affluence  of  prudence,  constancy  and  purity.  Thus  she  set 
ihe  finest  youths  of  all  Jewry  to  striving  for  her  heart  and 
hand.  What  Juno  was  to  Rome,  Mary  was  to  Israel.  The 
Romans  proclaimed  their  faith  in  the  good  wife  as  the  pro 
ducer  and  conserver  of  wealth  by  putting  their  mint  in 
the:-r  temple  of  '  Juno-MonetaJ  The  carpenter  of  Nazareth, 
building  up  a  clean,  honest,  though  humble  home,  by  the 
aid  of  his  consort,  built  more  enduringly,  and  presents  a 
finer  historical  figure,  than  that  once  mighty,  once  wise  Sol 
omon  ;  though  the  latter  erected  the  wondrous  Temple.  The 
home  and  love  of  Joseph  and  Mary  will  be  praised  by  the 
ages  that  abhor  the  ivory  houses  of  pleasure  of  the  great 
and  fallen  king.  The  story  of  that  home  life  at  Nazareth 
has  not  been  written,  and  we  must  gather  it  from  fragments 
and  eloquent  silence.  Mary's  jewels  as  a  wife  were  unos 
tentatiously  treasured  within  the  four  walls  of  her  domicile. 
The  devastating  tornado  leaves  enduring,  though  hateful 


5  74  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

history  ;  but  the  constant,  man-blessing  tides  of  the  ocean 
come  and  go  without  having  their  recurring  blessings  re* 
corded.  So  the  constant,  loyal,  patient  woman  of  Nazareth 
passed  noiselessly  by  in  her  day.  Her  exclamation  to  the 
Angel  of  the  Annunciation,  '.Behold  the  handmaid  of  the 
Lord,  be  it  unto  me  according  to  thy  word,'  was  the  keynote 
of  that  life  ever  enhanced  by  the  beauty  of  duty.  There 
was  submission  to  right  because  it  was  righteous.  And  this 
was  not  mere  passiveness.  You  remember  how  she  chal 
lenged  her  Son  in  His  early  youth,  that  time  He  was  absent 
for  a  season  from  His  parents,  at  first  without  explanation  ? 
The  words  Mary  spoke  that  day  burn  like  polished  gems 
when  considered  aright  :  '  Why  hast  thou  dealt  thus  with  us  ? 
Behold,  thy  father  and  I  have  sought  thcc,  sorrowing*  She 
did  not  forget  her  Son's  divine  origin,  but  exalted  the  rights 
of  motherhood  and  fatherhood,  confident  that  even  Deity 
could  not  ignore  them.  She  challenged  the  right  of  a  son 
to  cause  parental  sorrow  without  instant  strong  reason  for 
so  doing.  She  put  her  husband's  cause  before  her  own,  and 
made  his  honor  her  sacred  wifely  trust.  There  are  in  this 
history  some  very  fine  things  expressed  by  implication.  We 
know  the  woman  was  beautiful  and  much  younger  than  her 
husband  ;  the  disparity  of  years  did  not  hinder  full  affinity. 
She  did  not  fall  into  the  weakness  of  feeling  self-sufficient 
and  all-complacent  because  feeling  pretty.  All  she  was  and 
all  she  had  was  centred  in  her  consort  as  a  commonwealth 
between  him  and  her.  That  the  sycophant  and  flatterer 
crossed  her  path  there  can  be  no  doubt  ;  but  she  who  was 
not  intoxicated  by  BeMi'ehem's  gloria  in  excclsis  could  not 
be  dazzled  by  the  honeyed  words  of  mortals.  Wearing  such 
a  wife  on  his  heart,  Joseph  was  rich  indeed.  Silence  is 
once  more  eloquent.  We  l^row  that  the  mother  of  Jesus, 
having  been  widowed,  never  wee'  again.  Her  first  love  suf 
fered  no  eclipse.  That  she  was  courted,  after  her  spouse's 
death,  we  must  believe.  The  mother  of  a  Son  so  famous 
as  was  hers,  and  the  possessor  of  personal  charms  enshrin 
ing  a  soul  that  knew  how  to  utilize  sorrows  until  they  became 
refinements,  doubtless  had  many  suitors  in  her  widowhood 
days.  And  there  was  no  law  forbidding  her  a  second  mar 
riage,  except  the  unwritten  law  of  fine  sentiment  ;  but  to 
the  Queen  of  the  House  of  David  the  law  of  fine  sentiment 
was  all-controlling.  All  her  heart  was  fi'LeJ  with  love  for 


Crown  Jewels.  575 

her  husband,  her  Son  and  her  Savior.  When  her  consort 
died,  the  niche  in  her  heart  that  he  occupied,  the  only  part 
with  room  for  conjugal  love,  became  a  shrine.  Its  door  was 
sealed  then  until  the  final  resurrection.  Where  such  con 
stancy  exists  there  is  certainty  of  pure  homes.  Sanctity, 
chastity  and  faithfulness  were  the  lights  of  the  temple, 
dedicated  to  the  mythical  Juno,  within  whose  precincts  no 
impure  woman  was  suffered  to  enter.  To-day  I  claim  for 
the  True  Ideal  all  that  was  accorded  the  mythical  one." 

When  the  speaker  paused,  some  of  the  men  present 
broke  forth,  as  was  the  custom  in  the  synagogue  serv 
ice,  with  an  "  Amen,"  and  some  exclaimed  "  Rabbi, 
thine  are  good  words  for  our  women  to  hear!  " 

The  Hospitaler's  black  eyes  flashed  ;  a  hint  of  retort 
cf  lightning-like  directness  to  come.  And  it  came,  in 
stantly  : 

"  I  shall  fail  of  my  duty  if  I  give  all  to  one-half.  I  shall 
fail  of  my  intent  if  my  words  seem  like  railings  at  the  sex 
most  tender,  most  burdened.  Since  we  are  treating  of  the 
weeds  of  the  mourners,  let  us  question  why  it  is  that  wid 
owers  more  frequently  seek  remarriage  than  do  widows. 
The  bereaved  man  easily  says  :  '  Get  me  another  wife.' 
The  bereaved  woman  more  frequently  says  :  '  Let  me  hurry 
on  heavenward  after  my  only  and  ever  beloved.' 

"  With  the  true  woman  marriage  is  a  committal  so  utter 
that  it  is  difficult  for  her,  generally,  to  make  it  more  than 
once.  Again  me  thinks  that  marriage  brings  the  graver, 
heavier  loads  to  women.  Once  experienced,  there  is  need 
of  a  mighty  love  to  allure  her  to  a  second  trial.  The  man 
rises  by  self-assertion,  and  wedlock  does  not  hinder  him. 
With  the  woman  wedlock  means  self-denial  ;  her  name 
changes,  her  career  is  merged  into  that  of  her  consort ;  her 
body  is  given,  literally,  to  the  new  beings  she  bears.  To 
woman  marriage  has  no  parallel,  except  death.  Her  only 
possible  compensation  is  love,  and  that  she  should  receive 
with  measures  knowing  no  stint.  Oh,  men,  all  fair  to  other 
men,  all  merciful  to  the  beasts  that  toil,  all  prudent  in  keep 
ing  in  motion,  by  day  and  by  night,  the  water-wheels  in 
your  orange  and  mulberry  groves,  be  fair  and  merciful  to 
your  consorts.  Yea,  and  evermore  water  with  love's  most 


The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

grateful  refreshments  the  bearing  vines  whose  tendrils  in- 
twine  your  hearts,  whose  fruits  enrich  your  homes.  This  is 
religion  ;  what  is  less  is  heresy,  and  he  who  deals  unkindly, 
cruelly  or  niggardly  with  his  other  self,  can  not  face  God. 
The  prayers  of  such  are  hindered  and  like  unto  a  tree  whose 
leaves  are  storm-stripped.  You  know  the  race,  by  birth, 
comes  forth  in  two  sexes,  of  equal  numbers,  a  hint  of  God's 
plan  to  have  mankind  live  as  pairs  ;  but  the  men  are  a  con 
stant  majority.  Why  ?  I  answer  that,  notwithstanding  the 
perils  falling  upon  the  sterner  sex,  by  exposure,  by  war,  and 
all  such  things,  the  trials  falHng  to  woman's  lot  work  the 
greater  havoc,  keeping  her  sex  in  huge  majority  in  the 
places  of  the  dead.  Now  you  praise  me,  because  I've  told 
your  women  to  be  like  the  glorious  Mary?  Praise  me 
again  for  telling  them,  as  I  do  this  instant,  to  be  like  her 
in  choice  of  consorts.  If  they  can  not  find  Josephs  to  begin 
with,  God  grant  to  make  the  men  they  have  like  the  choice 
spouse  who  fell  to  Mary's  lot !  " 

The  Hospitaler  paused  for  a  moment ;  there  was  a 
wave  of  excitement,  very  near  to  applause,  running  over 
the  audience.  The  bride  and  the  groom,  together  with 
all  the  women  present,  by  their  faces  expressed  their  de 
light.  The  men  who  had  exclaimed  at  the  first,  looked 
blank  and  kept  silent  now. 

Abruptly,  as  before,  again  the  knight  spoke: 
"  I'll  touch  now  another  pertinent  theme — Mary  under  the 
shadows  of  scandal !  I'd  exalt  her  as  one  having  sounded 
the  depths  of  woman's  misery,  and  yet  preserving  her  integ 
rity.  I  know  that  some  here  will  think  themselves  offended, 
since  it's  the  fashion  so  to  think  when  listening  to  discourse 
such  as  I  now  intend.  Society,  more  prudish  than  sincere 
or  wise,  has  demanded  that  the  burning,  scarlet,  social  wrong 
be  spoken  of  only  by  scrupulous  hint,  half  words  and  re: 
serves,  at  least  among  decent  and  happy  folks.  For  once, 
as  God's  accredited  ambassador,  I'll  change  all  this,  and  by 
Purity's  earthly  throne,  the  marriage  altar,  denounce  the 
crime  of  crimes,  the  blasting  curse  of  all  mankind.  Let  him 
that's  conscious  of  his  own  impurity  mince  words.  I'll  not  ! 
Jehovah  might  have  brought  forth  the  Christ  without  sub 
jecting  Nazareth's  Virgin  to  the  painful  necessity  of  being 


Crozvn  Jeivels.  577 

doubted.  It  was  as  He  decreed  and  wisely  ordered.  The 
happening  was  not  because  Deity  was  frustrated,  but  because 
He  knew  that  she  whose  example  was  to  be  woman's  inspi 
ration,  could  be  so  more  surely,  if  her  career  took  her  along 
all  lines  of  woman's  needs.  There  was  a  time  when  almost 
all  who  knew  Mary  doubted  her  integrity  ;  a  time  when  her 
name  was  banded  about  by  the  roues  of  her  native  place  ; 
a  time  when  even  her  betrothed  was  resolving  to  renounce, 
if  not  to  denounce  her.  First  I'd  speak  of  how  impurity  is 
abhorred  of  God,  and  then  of  His  wondrous  effort  to  allure 
those  lost  by  it,  as  evinced  in  sending  out  after  them  the 
two  lambs— the  Eternal  Lamb  and  the  lamb-like  woman. 
To  say  that  they  whose  trend  is  toward  things  unclean  are 
abhorred  of  God  is  to  re-echo  the  edicts  of  nature  and  his 
tory.  They  say  whenever  a  sin  is  committed  a  devil  is 
created  to  avenge  it.  What  legions  avenge  this  sin  which, 
most  of  all,  brutalizes  man  and  turns  all  social  relations  into 
anarchy  !  Ask  your  men  of  science.  They  will  tell  you 
that  all  the  evils  flesh  is  heir  to  seem  to  get  their  seeds 
herein.  Immortal  revenge  haunts  it  !  You  know,  how  in 
the  Christian's  holy  book,  it  is  affirmed  that  many  sicken  and 
die  because  partaking  of  the  cup  of  the  holy  communion 
unworthily.  Presumptuous  hypocrisy  thus  meets  tha  wrath 
which  paralyzed  Uzzah  and  Jeroboam.  But  the  cup  of  the 
passion  was  love's  highest  gift,  and  the  offense  is  not 
against  the  cup  but  against  love  in  its  sublimest  display. 
Therefore  forever  death  is  the  penalty  that  overhangs  those 
who  outrage  this  finest  gem  of  angels  and  mortals.  Treason 
to  love  is  suicidal  as  well  as  murderous  !  They  say  that 
there  is  a  demon  whose  touch  causes  hideous,  coiling,  sting 
ing  serpents  to  grow  from  the  bodies  of  those  he  touches. 
I'll  tell  you  his  name — Lasciviousness,  and  he  works  fate- 
fully  wherever  man  abides.  But  the  pure  home  is  an  in 
vincible  bulwark  against  him,  and  hymen's  torch  his  blinding 
horror." 

There  were  some  of  the  knight's  auditors,  both  men 
and  women,  who  felt  it  their  duty,  because  of  custom, 
to  affect  disapproval  of  the  free  speaking  they  heard. 
Of  these  dissenters  the  women  uttered  no  word,  but 
their  eyes  glared,  and  the  color  went  and  came  in  their 


The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

cheeks.  The  disapproving  men  exhibited  faces  as 
hard  as  marble,  while  their  lips  mumbled  incoherently. 

The  knight  was  not  slow  to  perceive  the  rising 
storm,  but  he  was  undaunted.  He  waxed  more  earn 
est  and  more  eloquent ;  his  words  and  theme  inflamed 
him. 

One  favorable  to  his  faithfulness  remarked  to  a 
comrade : 

"The  Hospitaler  seems  to  grow  taller,  as  if  filled  and 
enlarged  by  an  inspiration." 

His  face  shone  as  that  of  Mosss  when  bearing  the 
law,  and  some  cowered  as  if  they  heard  coming  toward 
them,  from  afar,  the  rumblings  of  Sinai.  Some  white 
souls  present  wept,  moved  more  by  the  truth  in  its 
beauty  and  power  than  they  could  have  been  by  any 
play  on  their  emotions.  It  was  an  hour  of  true  ora 
tory's  triumph  ;  logic  set  on  fire  ;  a  consecrated  herald 
grappling  awful  sin  with  the  power  of  omnipotence. 

Presently,  after  the  thunder  and  lightning,  came  "  the 
still,  small  voice."  The  man  of  God  spoke  with  loving 
persuasiveness;  he  healed  with  words,  the  woundings 
truth  had  made.  Then  he  carried  his  audience  with 
him.  Many  bowed  their  heads  to  weep,  as  trees  beaten 
by  winds  that  carried  rain  ! 

"  We  can  all  entreat  fallen  men  as  to  most  sins,  why  not 
as  to  the  chief  sins  ?  We  speak  to  the  fathers,  brothers  and 
sons  faithfully,  pleadingly  ;  why  not  to  the  women  who  are 
elect  to  companion  creation's  lords  ?  Alas,  the  women  have 
the  greater  need  of  helpful  admonition,  when  they  fall,  for 
revilings  and  black  despair  fill  up- the  cup  of  their  remorse  ! 
You  have  heard  of  the  Feast  of  Lanterns  among  the  Chin 
ese  ?  Those  pagans,  once  a  year,  go  out  with  many-col 
ored  lights  to  symbolize  Mercy  seeking  lost  daughters. 
Shall  God's  choicest  people  fall  behind  the  pagan  ?  Never, 
if  true  to  the  noble,  tender,  pure  spirit  that  emanates  from 


Crown  Jewels.  579 

God's  own  ideal  of  womanhood.  No,  no  !  let  us  VON  with 
unwonted  zeal,  amid  the  lights,  lessons  and  joys  of  this 
hour,  to  be  knights  of  new  order  ;  knights  of  the  white 
cress  ;  sworn  to  denounce  all  impure  practices  on  our  own 
part,  and  on  the  other  hand  to  strive  to  allure  the  fallen  to 
that  that  is  clean  and  white  as  the  souls  of  the  angels  which 
do  excel  !  Let  us  go  to  those  whom  sin  has  made  drunk, 
in  their  despairing.  Let  us  tell  them  that  doubt  castles  are 
stormed  !  Let  us  proclaim  the  seed  of  the  worn,'>n  the  ser 
pent's  destroyer  !  Go,  women  to  women,  in  woman's  name, 
remembering  that  pity  in  the  soul  makes  him  or  her  that 
hath  it  successful  suppliant  for  all  mercies  at  the  throne  on 
which  forever  the  Interceding  Son  of  the  Virgin  reigns  ! 
Go,  fathers,  making  your  fatherhood  godlike  in  its  just  ten 
derness  !  Go,  brothers,  sons  of  women,  as  pure,  strong 
brothers  indeed  !  There  is  many  a  scarlet  woman  to-day 
with  scalded  eyes  and  ashen  heart  who  is  so  because  she 
believed  men  brothers  and  fathers  and  found  some  wolves 
and  vultures.  Go  to  those  who  have  all  days  as  nights,  all 
joys  as  apples  of  Sodom.  They  were  not  always  so,  and 
need  not  so  continue.  Do  not  belittle  their  sin,  yet  seek  to 
allure  them  by  a  noble  presentment  of  purity  and  by  all  en 
couragement  to  attempt  to  win  back  their  lost  crowns.  Tell 
them  of  the  woman  that  stood  serenely  amid  bitterest  scorns, 
and  say  as  did  her  Son  to  one  like  them  :  '  Go,  and  sin  no 
more.'  Then  teach  those  who  have  no  such  blot  upon  them 
to  be  kind  and  helpful.  We  can  never  judge  any  soul's 
guilt  until  we  at  last  know  the  measure  of  the  temptation  ! 
God  alone  knows  that. 

"  I  could  speak  on  this  theme  for  hours  ;  but  this  is 
enough  !  The  story  of  Mary  has  somehow  ever  had  pecu 
liar  efficacy  with  the  blighted  of  her  sex.  They  easily  are 
led,  when  all  men  fail  them,  to  dare  to  trust  the  One  who  had 
a  mother  so  tender.  Many  a  motherless  outcast  has  found 
Christ  in  trying  to  find  mother-love  in  Mary.  After  the 
phantasmagoria  of  illusive  pleasure  it  is  healing,  through 
faith  in  God's  exemplified  love,  to  dream  of  how  it  seems 
to  have  a  real  mother's  arms  enfolding  one.  I  hold  that  it 
is  profitable  to  the  impure  man,  sometimes  looking  within 
the  Pantheon  of  memory,  to  find  therein  conceptions  he 
treasured  in  his  purer  days  ;  but  with  more  determined 
assertion  I  find  that  it  lifts  up  the  soiled  woman  to  come 


580  The  Queen  of  tJie  House  of  David. 

in  contact  with  the  girdle  of  power  and  crown  jewels  of 
that  maiden  and  mother  of  Nazareth  and  Bethlehem  I? 
was  she  that  stood  a.gainst  imperial  Rome,  in  the  person 
of  Herod  ;  a  chaste  young  Jewess  against  corsleted  ani- 
mality  ;  a  country  maiden,  heaven-endowed,  against  an  o^d 
fox  ;  the  loyal  mother-eagle  against  the  python  !  But 
she  that  was  simply  good  evaded,  outran,  soared  above, 
and  finally  confounded  the  evil  at  its  lowest  dip,  its 
highest  power  !  " 

Then  the  orator-knight,  waving  his  hand  to  Cor 
nelius  to  signify  to  him  that  the  missioner  was  to  con 
clude  the  ceremonial,  abruptly  closed  his  address  and 
retired  to  one  of  the  little  alcove-chapels. 

A  simple  espousal  service  followed,  and  then  the 
company  gathered  dispersed,  going  to  join  in  hastily- 
arranged  festivities  in  the  park  by  the  temple.  The 
Hospitaler  and  the  missioners  were  auditors. 

"Nourahmal,  I  can  well  believe,  was  a  rare  beauty; 
her  grand-child  has  her  features,  and  she's  a  vision." 

"What  time  my  friend  here,  the  Hospitaler,  did  not 
engage  me  I  was  admiring  the  groom,"  Miriamne  re 
sponded  to  her  husband. 

"  He  hails  from  the  Jabbock  country,"  remarked  the 
knight. 

"Jabbock?  Faithful  Ichabod's  native  place?"  ex 
claimed  Miriamne. 

"  He  was  the  groom's  uncle,"  quoth  the  knight. 

Then  the  trio  were  silent,  the  thoughts  of  each  fol 
lowing  back  over  the  past  years  and  along  God's  prov 
idences.  The  way  life's  lines  were  crossed,  interwoven 
and  entangled  seemed  to  each  very  wonderful. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

THE  QUEEN'S  VISION  OF  THE  "AGE   OF  GOLD   ANl3 

FIRE." 

"  Oh,  moist  eyes, 

And  hurrying  lips  and  heaving  heart ! 
The  world  we've  come  to  late  is  swollen  hard 
With  perishing  generations  and  their  sins  ; 
The  civilizer's  spade  grinds  horribly 
On  dead  men's  bones,  and  can  not  turn  up  soil, 
That's  otherwise  than  fetid.     All  successes 
Prove  partial  failure     ******* 

*  *     *     *     All  governments,  some  wrong; 
The  rich  men  make  the  poor  who  curse  the  rich, 
Who  agonize  together,  rich  and  poor, 

Under  and  over  in  the  social  spasm. 

*  *         #         *         *         *         # 

Who  being  man  and  human,  can  stand  calmly  by 
And  view  these  things,  and  never  tease  his  soul 
For  some  great  cure. 

— MRS.  E.  B.  BROWNING  :  "  Aurora  Leigh." 


"  They  went  up  into  an  upper  room, 
With  the  woman  and  Mary  the  mother  ot  Jesus." 

"  Many  signs  and  wonders  were  clone. 
All  that  believed  had  all  things  common." 

—ACTS. 

'M   anxious   for  the  coming   of   the    people 
to-day  ;    Beulah    said,  a  week  ago,  at  her 
wedding,   that  she'd   have    the  old   Druse 
camel-driver  at  this  service  ;  though  he  ran 
away  from  her  marriage  feast." 


582  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  I've  heard  that  she  and  her  grandmother  had  a 
convert  to  our  faith,  nearly  ripe,"  replied  Cornelius  to 
his  wife. 

At  this  instant  one  of  the  "  Bethany  Sisters  "  tim 
idly  approached  the  speakers,  evidently  anxious  to 
deliver  some  communication. 

"  Tis  '  Brightness  '  by  name  and  by  nature,"  remarked 
Miriamne. 

"  Well,  sister  Ziha,  what  is  it  ? "  questioned  the 
chaplain. 

"  Pardon  me  ;  but  there  is  waiting  without,  a  grave 
and  taciturn  man  who  says  he  would  speak  with  the 
'Prophetess.'  He  means  our  Miriamne." 

"  Of  what  flavor  is  he,  Ziha?" 

"Surely,  I  can  not  imagine,  sister  Miriamne!  His 
countenance  is  that  of  a  Persian  Jew  ;  his  turban  is 
Turkish  ;  his  tunic  Christian.  But  his  bearing  is  that  of 
a  prince,  though  all  his  belongings,  except  his  gor 
geously  dressed  camel,  are  those  of  a  beggar !  " 

"  I'll  see  him,  Ziha  ;  bid  him  enter,"  exclaimed  Miri 
amne. 

"  That  I  did  ;  but  he  says  his  haste  is  too  great  and 
his  limbs  too  stiff  for  dismounting.  In  truth,  his  brow, 
bleached  to  the  bone,  tells  of  weighty  years." 

"Let's  go  to  him,"  said  the  chaplain. 

The  missioners  going  forth,  at  the  easterly  side  of 
their  temple,  were  confronted  by  a  majestic  figure, 
mounted  on  a  splendidly  caparisoned  white  camel,  evi 
dently  a  borrowed  one. 

"  Ullah  makum"  "  God  be  with  you,"  said  the  man 
on  the  camel  with  great  courtliness  and  dignity,  at  the 
same  time  extending  to  the  chaplain  a  parchment 
roll. 


The  Qneeiis  Vision.  583 

"This  for  me  ?  "  questioned  the  latter. 

"  For  thee,"  replied  the  rider,  bowing  as  before,  but 
looking  past  the  question  with  fixed,  though  reverent, 
gaze  at  Miriamne. 

"  Hut  who  are  you  ?  "  again  questions  the  chaplain. 

"God  knows,"  was  the  sententious  reply  of  the 
rider,  his  eyes  still  turning,  not  with  curiosity,  but  with 
a  deferential  and  affectionate  interest,  toward  the 
chaplain's  wife. 

"What  message  here,  my  father?  "  questioned  again 
Cornelius,  in  the  language  of  Galilee. 

The  aged  man's  dark  face  lightened  at  the  words, 
and  turning  his  reverent  gaze  from  Miriamne  toward 
the  questioner,  he  slowly  responded  : 

"  The  '  Angels  of  the  Mount  '  are  not  too  proud  to 
call  a  poor  camel  driver  '  my  father  ?  '  Age  has  respect 
here!  I  might  have  known  this:  Nourahmal  is  full  of 
the  odors  of  this  new  Bethany  !  " 

"And  do  you  come  from  Nourahmal?"  quickly 
interrogated  Miriamne. 

"  Nourahmal  and  I  are  one,  by  the  voice  of  God 
spoken  through  the  holy  Hospitaler,  who  is  alluring 
me  daily  from  the  secret  faiths  of  my  fathers  to  learn 
the  prayers  that  Nourahmal  learns  here." 

"  I  see,"  continued  Miriamne  ;  "  I  speak  with  Nou- 
rahmal's  consort.  Pray  dismount  for  refreshment.  We 
bid  you  every  welcome,  Mahmood." 

"  Mahmood  !  called  by  such  fine  people  by  my  proper 
name  ;  not  '  dog '  or  '  here  you,'  or  '  old  camel  goad  ! ' 
Wonderful ! " 

"  Will  Nourahmal's  spouse  dismount  ?  " 

"  Blessed  woman,  I've  had  great  refreshment  in 
bv.;ng  thus  permitted  to  see  thee  face  to  face,  and 


584  The  Queen  of 'the  House  of  David. 

thank  thee  and  thine  for  what  thou  hast  done  for  me 
and  mine  ;  bat  I  can  not  tarry  ;  old  age  and  poverty 
have  bargained  to  make  constant  toil  my  master.  T 
must  keep  moving  or  the  swifter  youths  will  take  away 
my  master  and  leave  me  to  hire  out  to  starvation  ;  "  so 
saying,  the  speaker  smote  his  camel  and  the  beast 
moved  away,  slowly,  along  the  road  toward  Jerusalem. 

Cornelius,  recovering  himself  from  his  meditations, 
called  after  the  departing  Druse. 

"What  of  this  parchment  ?" 

"The  Hospitaler  sent  it!  He  said  it  would  talk 
with  '  the  Angels  of  the  Mount.' " 

The  camel  driver  had  stopped  his  beast  to  say  this 
much.  For  a  moment  he  looked  at  the  missioners, 
then  at  their  temple  and  its  surroundings.  There  was 
a  world  of  questioning,  and  wonder,  and  yearning  in 
the  old  man's  countenance.  Again  his  goad  fell  on 
the  beast  he  rode  and  the  latter  bore  him  along. 

"Shall  we  meet  again,  father?"  Cornelius  called 
after  him. 

"  Stay  master  work  !  Go  master  want  !  'Till  good 
shade  Death  takes  to  the  cool  rest-land  the  holy  Hos 
pitaler,  the  Angels  of  the  Mount,  my  Nourahmal,  and 
may  be  me;  even  me  the  poor,  old,  camel-driver,  Mah- 
mood !  "  was  the  slow  reply  as  the  Druse  departed.  A 
turn  in  the  road  soon  shut  him  from  view. 

"  Well,  my  spouse,  Miriamne,  our  new  Bethany  sees 
strange  visitants  these  days,"  remarked  her  husband. 

"  The  mystic  Druse  is  finding  something  that  is  finer 
than  the  creeds  of  his  mountain  clans,"  rejoined  Miri 
amne. 

"Be  not  too  certain  ;  those  Highlanders  of  Palestine 
are  ever  politic  ;  they'll  quote  the  Koran  to  one  of 


The  Queen  s  Vision,  585 

Islam,  kiss  the  Bible  in  the  company  of  Christians ;  but 
once  alone  are  Druse  to  the  last." 

"That  is  their  character;  but  we've  a  transforming 
gospel ;  no  man  as  old  as  he  and  companion  of  such 
advocates  of  the  White  Kingdom  as  the  Hospitaler 
and  Nourahmal,  could  talk  as  did  that  old  man  to  kill 
time  or  conventionally. — But  you  do  not  study  your 
parchment."  Cornelius,  recalled  by  Miriam  no's  words, 
unfolded  the  document  given  him  by  the  camel-driver, 
and  read  aloud  : 

"  My  son  and  my  daughter  :  Greeting  ;  the  streams  of 
gospel  blessing  rising  in  the  springs  of  your  mountain 
temple  reach  refreshingly  even  unto  Jerusalem,  as  I  daily 
perceive.  Therefore,  for  your  consolation  and  for  the 
enkindling  of  your  pious  zeal,  I  herewith  send  these  lines. 
Work  onward,  beloved,  believing,  hoping  you  have  arrived 
at  the  dawn  of  a  new  revelation  and  well  commenced  a  true 
work  for  Clod.  To-day,  as  I  sought  to  interpret  His  proph 
ecies,  it  can  i  to  me  that  that  you  are  attempting  to  do  is 
nigh  to  being  a  fulfillment  of  His  word  as  recorded  in  the 
manner  following  by  Ezekiel  : 

"  Then  the  glory  of  the  Lord  departed  from  off 
the  threshold  of  the  house,  and  stood  over  the 
cherubim. 

"And  the  cherubim  lifted  up  their  wings,  and 
mounted  up  from  the  earth  in  my  sight  :  when  they 
went  out,  the  wheels  also  were  beside  them,  and  every 
one  stood  at  the  door  of  the  east  gate  of  the  Lord's 
house  ;  and  the  glory  of  the  God  of  Israel  was  over 
them  above. 

"  The  word  of  the  Lord  came  unto  me,  saying  : 

"  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  :  I  will  assemble  you  out 
of  the  countries  where  ye  have  been  scattered,  and  I 
will  give  you  the  land  of  Israel. 

"  And  they  shall  come  thither,  and  they  shall  take 


586  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

away  all  the  detestable  things  thereof  and  all  the 
abominations. 

"  And  I  will  give  them  one  heart,  and  I  will  put  a 
new  spirit  within,  and  I  will  take  the  stony  heart. 

"That  they  may  walk  in  my  statutes,  and  keep  mine 
ordinances,  and  they  shall  be  my  people,  and  I  will  be 
their  God. 

"  Then  did  the  cherubim  lift  up  their  wings,  and  the 
glory  of  the  God  of  Israel  was  over  them  above. 

"  And  the  glory  of  the  Lord  went  up  from  the  midst 
of  the  city,  and  stood  upon  the  mountain  which  is  on 
the  east  side  of  the  city. 

"  These  solemn  words  tell  how  the  glory  and  favor  of 
God  was  driven  from  the  people  of  old  by  their  sinning  ; 
how  slowly  yearningly,  God  departed  ;  how  in  every  land 
He  provide  little  sanctuaries  for  the  faithful  few.  And 
more  than  all  this,  the  Holy  Word  describes  God  in  Spirit  as 
pausing  on  the  mount  to  the  east  of  Jerusalem.  That  paus 
ing  place  was  your  Olivet.  The  Jewish  Rabbins  in  their 
sacred  histories  affirm  that  for  three  years  God,  in  manifest 
form,  tarried,  near  where  your  Temple  of  Allegory  stands,  re 
peating  over  and  over  the  solemn  call,  '•Return  unto  me,  and 
I  will  return  unto  you  /  '  Beloved,  since  then  the  eternal 
voice,  through  Jesus  Christ,  has  spoken  through  three  min 
istering  years  from  these  mountains  to  the  world.  You  are 
now  re  echoing  the  cry.  God  be  with  you,  as  He  is,  and 
give  you  faith  to  call  and  call  until  the  ascended  Christ 
come  into  all  hearts." 

"No  name  to  his  letter,  as  usual?"  remarked  the 
chaplain. 

"  He  seems  to  loathe  names  almost  ;  but  recently, 
when  I  made  bold  to  ask  him  his,  he  sententiously  ob 
served,  'God  knows;  'tis  in  a  white  stone,  I'm  to  get, 
for  this  life  I'm  only  remembered  by  what  I've 
done.'  But  what  engages  my  husband's  attention 
now?" 


The  Queen  s  Vision.  587 

"  I'm  trying  to  interpret  the  picture  yonder,  over  the 
door,  to  the  retreat  you  call  the  ' Mother 's  Pillow" 

"  What  think  you  of  it  ?  You  perceive  it's  the  legend 
of  the  mother  pelican  feeding  her  famishing  young 
with  blood  drawn  from  her  own  bosom,  which  she  has 
wounded  for  their  food." 

"  I  think  the  picture  likely  to  depress  nervous 
mothers !  " 

"  That's  a  picture  of  one  side  of  mother  life;  look 
beyond  it." 

At  that  the  light  from  a  distant  window  was  let  fall, 
by  some  unseen  attendant,  all  about  the  entrance  to  the 
"Mothers  Pillow  !  " 

"I  see  a  splendid  '  Gabriel'  above  the  pelican;  the 
angel's  hand  points  upward." 

"  Glorious  Gabriel !  Angel  of  mothers  and  victories, 
by  interpretation,  'God's  champion!'  You've  heard 
his  titles,  Cornelius?" 

"  I  know  that  he  bore  victory  to  Gideon  and  light 
ened  the  way  for  Daniel's  conquest  of  all  Babylon  ; 
nor  do  I  forget  that  he  was  the  angel  which  com 
forted  giant  Samson's  mother  before  her  child  was 
born." 

"  Yea,  he  that  made  the  sign  of  the  cross,  doing  won- 
drously,  above  the  smoke  of  Monoah's  altar,  was  after 
commissioned  to  greet  and  guide  Mary,  the  mother  of 
the  Giant  King  of  the  new  dispensation." 

"You've  fine  insights,  Miriamne,  but  there's  incom 
pleteness  in  your  symbolism  here." 

"True,  I  feel  that;  all  interpretation  of  motherhood 
is  inadequate;  but  look  further." 

"  I  see  the  '  Queen  of  Mothers  ! '  Why  have  you  left 
her  and  the  babe  in  such  deep  shadows?" 


588  The  Queen  of  I  he  House  of  David. 

"That's  this  life's  reality;   but  look  higher." 

The  chaplain  complied ;  a  vine  trellis  was  swung 
aside,  and  he  beheld,  above  the  shadowed  picture,  in 
an  arch  reaching  nearly  to  the  roof  of  the  temple, 
another,  the  latter  a  marvel  of  light  and  color. 

"Glorified  Mary,  uplifted  by  the  babe,  now  grown 
and  Kingly!"  exclaimed  the  chaplain. 

"And  so  is  taught  for  mothers'  comfort,  that  the  Son 
of  God  honored  her  who  bore  Him,  because  she  was  to 
Him  a  true  mother.  May  we  not  believe  that  this  love 
for  Mary,  in  the  God  heart,  is  widened  into  peculiar 
tenderness  toward  all  who  give  the  earth  its  lords  and 
paradise  its  elect  through  the  crucifixions  of  mater 
nity?  " 

"Oh,  Miriamne,  I've  learned  in  the  past  to  stand,  as 
it  were,  with  bared  head,  all  reverential  in  the  presence 
of  true  motherhood  ;  when  I  see  it  strengthened  by 
faith,  enriched  by  suffering  ;  the  most  entrancing  exam 
ple  of  self-abnegation  on  earth!  To-day  I  feel,  if  pos 
sible,  in  these  surroundings,  a  deeper  reverence  than 
ever,  for  that  estate  of  woman.  Say  on." 

"  Paganism  worshiped  the  sun,  the  earth,  woman  ; 
whatever  brought  forth  ;  it  was  its  best  attempt  at  ex 
pressing  a  vaguely  realized  yet  noble  sentiment.  The 
religions  that  repudiated  paganism,  in  their  efforts  to 
extirpate  all  idolatry,  went  to  the  extreme  of  denying 
merited  honor  to  some  most  worthy.  Then  came  the 
Christian  revolution,  and  God  turned  all  eyes  toward  a 
pure  woman.  He  proclaimed  forever  the  honors  of 
motherhood  by  presenting  through  it  to  the  world  His 
Unspeakable  Gift." 

"  So  heaven's  last  appeal  to  our  race,  after  Sinai's 
thunders  and  the  rapt  visions  of  Hie  prophets  became 


The  Queen  s  Vision.  589 

ineffective,  was  made  by  the  eloquence  of  the  life  of 
the  silent  Mary." 

"  Well  said  !  Now  filled  with  that  belief,  herald  the 
White  Kingdom  ! " 

"  I'll  help  Miriamne,  encouraging,  upholding  her ; 
for  the  rest  I've  learned  to  lean  and  follow." 

"  I'm  a  column  of  dust,  not  a  pillar  of  fire  ;  and  dust, 
alas,  to  dust  returns.  There  is  much  to  do  here,  more 
than  I  shall  be  able  to  compass.  I've  hitherto  but 
vaguely  taught  the  meaning,  power  and  blessings  of 
motherhood." 

"  I  think  more  than  vaguely." 

"The  sun  rises  in  the  east.  I  think  we've  sunrise, 
but  the  depth,  height  and  breadth  have  not  been 
sounded  nor  measured  yet.  Shall  we  go  toward  the 
west  wing?  " 

"Yea,  lead,  though  I'm  charmed  in  this  presence." 

"  I'd  lead  to  the  '  Rest  of  the  Aged:  " 

"To  the  retreat  with  door  like  a  castle?  What  are 
those  amazon  forms  in  armor?" 

"The  Peri?" 

"  I  bid  them  welcome  in  Miriamne's  name,  having 
learned  that  she  is  serious  as  well  as  cunning  in  weav 
ing  the  manna-bearing  garlands  of  every  myth  about 
her  ideals.  Say  on." 

"They  say  there  is  beneath  the  Caucasian  mountains 
a  wondrous  city  builded  of  pearls  and  precious  stones, 
in  which  dwells  a  race  of  surpassing  beauty  of  person. 
I've  utilized  the  tradition." 

"  Oh,  the  fabled  Peri ;  but  I'm  mystified." 

"They  also  say,"  continued  Miriamne,  "that  Dives, 
a  wicked  genus,  wages  constant  war  against  the  Peri, 
hoping  to  possess  the  treasures  of  the  Peri  capital,  but 


590  The  Queen  of  t lie  House  of  David. 

that  they  successfully  repel  him  and  make  their 
happiness  secure.  I  have  a  similitude  of  the  Peri 
city." 

"  In  truth,  I  wonder  now.  What  fitness  for  such  an 
allegory  here  ?" 

"  I  think  I  have  come  near  to  a  profound  truth. 
Listen  ;  here  at  the  west,  I  have  planned  to  show  what 
makes  approaching  age  a  terror." 

"  There  are  many  evils  which  fall  upon  man's  de 
clining  years." 

"Judge  me  if  my  philosophy  is  faulty.  I  see  ever 
that  the  fear  of  being  left  poor  and  also  old  here  haunts 
most  lives.  This  fear  is  the  parent  of  avarice,  and 
avarice  is  a  serpent  of  glowing  head  and  deadly  sting. 
It  robs  Society  and  individuals  of  the  two  choicest 
jewels,  plenteous  benevolence  and  serene  hopefulness. 
You  will  find  that  most  of  the  wrongs  from  man  to 
man  arise  from  hearts  made  cruel  by  the  rigors  of 
avariciousness.  If  we  could  stay  that  master  passion, 
all  streams  of  benevolence  would  rise  to  their  flood, 
and  hoarding,  now  a  seeming  necessity,  most  fre 
quently  a  curse,  become  the  occupation  solely  of  a  few 
monomaniacs." 

"  Miriamne's  philosophy  is  as  invulnerable  as  a 
knight's  hauberk,  but  how  can  you  make  it  a  general 
practice  ?  " 

"Oh,  very  easily.  I've  planned  to  endow  our  Tem 
ple  of  Allegory  so  that  it  may  not  only  teach  but  also 
do  beautiful  things.  I'd  have  it  a  Pool  of  Bethesda, 
stirred  continuously  to  meet  every  human  need." 

"  Miriamne  will  have  a  vast  following  ;  the  masses 
believe  in  loaves  and  fishes  !  " 

"True,  avarice  prompts  some  to  a  mean  faith,  bi.t 


The  Queen's  Vision.  591 

I  seek  to  slay  avarice  and  blast  the  love  of  money,  that 
root  of  all  evil." 

"  '  Enthusiast  ! '  a  gainsaying  world  will  cry." 

"And  the  cry  of  the  \vorld  will  be  then,  as  often 
before,  a  burning  lie  !  So  be  it.  I'm  holding  up  the 
truth,  the  royal  truth  of  Christianity.  I'll  hold  it  up 
while  I  have  breath,  and  leave  that  truth,  if  God  gives 
me  grace,  as  the  beacon  light  on  our  hill  to  glow  until 
all  Christendom  puts  on  a  charity  as  multiform  and 
broad  as  the  needs  of  humanity." 

"  But  there  is  a  large  and  needy  world." 

"I  have  a  rich  Father;  the  earth  is  His  and  the 
fullness  thereof.  The  only  difficulty  is  in  securing 
from  His  stewards  an  accounting  and  a  beginning  of 
payment." 

"This,  Miriamne,  sounds  like  the  dream  of  a  poet. 
I'll  not  waken  you  from  your  beautiful  trance,  but 
still  the  rough  fates  of  life  as  it  is,  and  the  very  com 
mon  commonplace  confront  us." 

"  What  a  world  this  would  be  if  all  mankind  was  as 
one  family,  realizing  universal  brotherhood  !  " 

"This,  too,  is  the  dream  of  the  poet,  Socialism; 
Astarte's  devotees  practiced  it  in  the  past." 

"  Now,  I'll  say  silence !  You  speak  of  heathen  so 
cialism.  Whatever  its  form,  lust  was  its  corner  stone, 
and  a  barbarous  selfishness,  which  limited  it  to  those 
of  each  tribe  or  clan,  its  best  expression!  I  speak  of 
a  vastly  finer,  grander  creed  !  I  look  out  and  forward 
to  a  day  when  all  shall  know  the  Lord ;  a  day  when 
law  shall  be  love  and  love  shall  be  law.  Then  earth 
shall  be  an  Eden,  with  plenty  for  all,  such  plenty  as 
Divine  bounty  bestows.  Christianity  means  the  bring 
ing  in  of  that  day;  the  '  Precious  Gift '  was  an  earnest 


592  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

of  all  needed  gifts  from  on  high.  When  that  day 
comes  we  shall  understand  why  the  Pentecostal  fire 
came  to  all  hearts  in  the  time  when  all  worshipers 
were  thanking  the  All-Giver  for  the  bounties  of  the 
harvest.  Then  avarice  shall  cease  from  the  earth,  and 
men,  no  more  harassed  by  it,  learn  to  practice  all 
bountifulness  in  youth  and  mid-life,  and  also  serene 
restfulness  when  their  powers  of  bread-winning  are 
paralyzed  by  the  burdens  of  years.  All  will  be  noble, 
therefore  none  indolent.  There  will  be  no  beggars, 
for  charity  will  run  before  want,  ever  glad  to  serve 
those  that  can  not  serve  themselves.  Then  those  who 
wear  the  glory-crowns  of  gray  will  be  nourished  rever 
ently  and  gladly,  not  as  if  they  were  useless  paupers ; 
not  with  a  niggardly  service  which  seems  to  be  con 
stantly  saying,  'How  long  are  you  going  to  live!' 
There  will  be  no  more  worriment,  no  more  crowdings 
of  each  other,  no  more  dishonesty  among  men  !  It  is, 
I  say,  the  constant  fear  of  coming,  in  the  day  when 
the  heart  is  beating  the  last  strokes  of  its  own  funeral 
march,  to  doled  charity  or  to  nothing,  that  makes  men 
pile  up  gain  in  dishonor  and  hoard  it  with  miserly 
grasping.  Do  you  remember  that  Mary  returned  from 
ministering  to  Elizabeth  to  sing  her  '  Magnificat'  with 
these  prophetic  strains  : 

" '  His  mercy  is  on  them  that  fear  Him  from  genera 
tion  to  generation.  He  hath  filled  the  hungry  with 
good  things.  He  hath  holpen  His  servant  Israel.' 

"  From  the  song  she  went  to  humble,  painful  minis, 
tries  in  behalf  of  all  the  world.  Mary  supplemented 
the  wondrous  work  of  her  Son  and  King,  all  the  way 
bearing  as  best  she  could  her  part  of  His  cross  ;  all  the 
way  her  quivering  heart  pierced  by  the  sword  that 


The  Queen  s  Vision,  593 

finally  slew  Him.  She  saw  His  bloody  tears  turning 
to  crown  jewels  as  He  ascended  from  Olivet,  and  with 
unfaltering  faith  knelt  among  His  earthly  followers 
chat  she  with  them  might  receive  her  crown  of  flame. 
That  room  was  the  highest  point  of  outlook  on  earth. 
It  was  the  place  of  supreme  beneficence  ;  the  place 
where  God  gave  Himself  up  freely  for  His  followers 
and  established  the  memorial-superlative  of  the  ages. 
Thither  they  hasted  that  they  might  learn  how  all-re 
ceiving  comes  from  all-giving,  that  they  might  realize 
the  measure  and  splendor  of  perfect  charity,  which  is 
perfect  love." 

"  Miriamne,  whence  do  you  get  such  wondrous  in 
sights  ?  " 

Then  the  young  wife  turned  aside  to  her  "  own  little 
mountain,"  as  she  called  a  secret  praying  place  in  the 
chapel.  She  quickly  returned,  and  handing  a  manu 
script  to  Cornelius,  said  : 

"  Read,  please,  of  Pentecost." 

He  complied  : 

"  Then  they  that  gladly  received  His  word  were 
baptized  ;  and  the  same  day  there  were  added  unto 
them  about  three  thousand  souls. 

"And  they  continued  steadfastly  in  the  apostles' 
doctrine  and  fellowship,  and  in  breaking  of  bread  and 
in  prayers. 

"  And  fear  came  upon  every  soul,  and  many  won 
ders  and  signs  were  done  by  the  apostles. 

"  And  all  that  believed  were  together,  and  had  all 
things  common  ; 

"  And  sold  their  possessions  and  goods  and  parted 
them  to  all  men,  as  every  man  had  need. 

"And  they,  continuing  daily  with  one  accord  in  the 


594  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

temple,  and  breaking  bread  from  house   to  house,  did 
eat  their  meat  with  gladness  and  singleness  of  heart, 

"  Praising  God,  and  having  favor  with  all  the  peo 
ple.  And  the  Lord  added  to  the  church  daily  such 
as  should  be  savedo" 


CHAPTER  XLI. 
A  CHIME  AND  A  DIRGE  AT  CHRISTMAS  TIME. 

"Oh,  not  alone,  because  his  name  is  Christ; 

Oh,  not  alone,  because  Judea  waits 
This  man-child  for  her  King — the  star  stands  still ! 

Its  glory  reinstates, 
Beyond  humiliation's  utmost  ill, 

On  peerless  throne  which  she  alone  can  fill, 
Each  earthly  woman  !     Motherhood  is  priced 

Of  God,  at  price  no  man  may  dare 
To  lessen  or  misunderstand. 


The  crown  of  purest  purity  revealed 
Virginity  eternal,  signed  and  sealed 
Upon  all  motherhood." 

— HELEN  HUNT. 

"  In  sorrow  thou  shalt  bring  forth." — Gen.  iii.  16. 
"Thou  shalt  be  saved  in  child-bearing." — Tim.  ii.  15. 


1 


JNDREDS  of  willing  hands,  directed  by 
Miriamne,  were  engaged  in  preparations  for 
fitly  celebrating  the  feast  of  the  Nativity  at 
Bethany.  There  was  cheerful  expectation 
everywhere  in  the  village,  and  the  Temple  of  Allegory 
was  smiling  and  glowing  by  day  and  by  night  with 
flowers  and  lights. 

'*  Miriamne,  look  forth  !    There  approaches  our  dom- 


596  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

icile   a   company   of  singing   maidens,   wearing   holly 
wreaths  and  bearing  a  kline  !     What  can  it  mean  ?  " 

An  instant  of  wonderment  ready  to  echo  the  chap 
lain's  question  possessed  Miriamne,  then  with  a  glow 
of  satisfaction  on  her  pale  face,  she  cried  : 

"  I  know  it  all !  The  maidens  of  our  fraternity  have 
been  declaring  for  a  month  past  they'd  have  me  this 
Christmas  at  our  Temple  on  the  Hill,  if  they  must 
needs  carry  me  thither  !  " 

"And  they  knew  you  were  drooping?  Who  told 
them  ?  Not  I." 

"  Love  has  quick  eyes,  and  my  sisters  love  indeed! " 

"  But,  Miriamne,  you  surely  will  not  risk  your  life, 
so  precious  to  all,  by  going  forth  to-day?" 

"  The  holly,  over-canopying  the  couch  they  bear,  says 
to  me  :  'Yea,  go.'  1  told  them  the  secret  of  the  holly, 
and  how  those  ancient  Romans,  thinking  their  deities 
largely  sylvan,  cherished  this  shrub,  so  pe/sistently 
evergreen,  in  the  belief  that  it  afforded  a  safe  and  cer 
tain  abiding  place  for  their  gods  in  bitter,  biting  days 
of  winter.  The  maidens  remember  their  lesson." 

And  shortly  after,  all  went  forth  toward  the  temple, 
the  physically  weak  but  spiritually  strong  woman 
borne  by  her  followers  in  a  sort  of  triumph,  and  Cor 
nelius  leading ;  the  latter,  that  day  was  one  of  the  hap 
piest,  proudest  men  in  all  Syria.  He  rejoiced  and 
exulted  in  being  companion  of  a  woman  such  as  Miri 
amne  was. 

Miriamne  entered  the  temple  to  find  a  vast  congre 
gation  awaiting  her.  There  was  a  ripple  of  excite 
ment,  a  deep  murmuring  of  satisfied  voices  almost 
reaching  the  proportion  of  a  masculine  outbreak  of 
applause,  as  she  appeared.  Contentment  was  depicted 


A  Chime  and  a  Dirge  at  Christmas  Time.        597 

on  all  faces,  on  many  real  happiness.  Neither  was  it 
transitory;  there  was  a  throbbing  of  gladness  running 
back  and  forth,  rising  higher  and  higher,  until  it  finally 
broke  out  into  an  impromptu  "Gloria  in  excelsis ! " 
Then  followed  a  scripture  lesson  : 

"And  Ezra  the  priest  brought  the  law  before  the 
congregation  both  of  men  and  women,  and  all  that 
could  hear  with  understanding,  upon  the  first  day  of 
the  seventh  month. 

"And  he  read  therein  before  the  street  that  was  before 
the  water-gate  from  the  morning  until  midday,  before 
the  men  and  the  women,  and  those  that  could  under 
stand  ;  and  the  ears  of  the  people  were  attentive  unto 
the  book  of  the  law." 

And  now  the  attention  of  all  was  drawn  to  the 
sound  of  footsteps  in  the  throbbings  of  a  march,  keep 
ing  time  to  the  tones  of  the  organ  and  the  flourishings 
of  cymbals.  Nigh  an  hundred  Syrian  maidens,  wearing 
girdles  and  crowns  of  evergreen,  moved  with  grace 
ful  evolutions  from  the  temple's  east  entrance  and 
quickly  formed  in  a  crescent  nigh  to  Cornelius  and 
Miriamne.  They  paused  in  their  progress  but  still 
kept  time  with  their  feet  and  swinging  cymbals.  Then 
the  crescent  was  broken  ;  those  in  the  center  standing 
in  lines  that  made  a  cross ;  those  at  either  end  group 
ing  as  stars. 

"Sisters,  we'd  hear  the  fitting  song  of  this  day," 
said  Miriamne.  Forthwith  the  gathered  company  of 
garlanded  maidens  began  to  retire,  but  in  perfect 
order,  the  two  star  groups  passing  along  as  the  com 
pany  making  the  cross  went,  so  preserving  the  form  of 
the  tableau,  until  the  exits  were  reached.  As  the  pro 
cession  went  forth  the  temple  bell  tolled  solemnly, 


598  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

and  the  maidens  sang,  accompanied  by  organ-notes 
which  died  away  finally  like  the  sigh  of  tired  waves  on 
a  beaten  strand.  Cornelius  was  silent,  though  his  eyes 
were  like  the  eyes  of  a  child  awakened  from  a  dream 
of  wonderland. 

Miriamne  penetrating  his  thoughts  remarked  : 

"  Is  Cornelius  weary  of  questioning?" 

"  I  listen  as  to  autumn  winds  in  a  scared  flight  through 
weeping  forests,  instead  of  to  Christmas  exultations  !  " 

"  The  singers  are  of  my  '  Miriamne  Band,'  as  they 
call  themselves,  in  honor  of  the  sister  of  Moses,  Israel's 
greatest  law  giver." 

"  Methinks  ail  here  are  mystics  in  thought  and  poets 
in  expression  ! " 

"Then  so  was  God.  We  are  but  reproducing  His 
lessons  !  Remember  now  how  the  Egyptian  Pharoah 
once  commanded  that  all  the  male  children  of  his 
Israelitish  captives  be  put  to  death,  to  the  intent  that 
eventually  all  the  females  should  become  the  prey  of 
his  people." 

"  Miriamne  journeys  far  from  Bethlehem." 

"  The  mother  and  the  sister  watched  the  ark  in 
which  the  infant  Moses  was  given  to  the  cruel  mercies 
of  the  Nile." 

"  I  remember,  but  there  come  no  carols  from  the 
bullrushes." 

"  Yea,  finer  than  from  the  reeds  of  Pan.  Listen  ;  the 
ark,  emblem  of  God's  covenant,  carried  the  law.  The 
mother  and  sisters,  by  the  ministries  of  a  love  which 
never  faltered,  frustrated  wily  Egypt,  saved  themselves^ 
their  male  companions,  and  finally  their  whole  race. 
When  God  embalms  a  history  it  is  well  to  look  into  it 
for  germs  of  mighty  portent." 


A  Chime  and  a  Dirge  at  Christmas  Time.        599 

"But  thinking  of  this  distant  and  bitter  history,  we 
are  kept  from  Bethlehem,  Miriamne." 

"  So  the  Red  Sea  and  the  \vilderness  preceded  the 
Promised  Land.  You  remember  there  were  fears 
and  tears  before  Miriam  and  her  mother  saw  their 
babe  safely  adopted  at  the  palace ;  so  there  were 
pains  and  toils  to  Mary  along  the  way  from  Bethle 
hem's  manger  to  Bethany's  mount  of  Ascension." 

The  words  of  Miriamne  were  broken  off  by  a  strain 
of  the  organ  that  was  very  like  amoan  of  the  distressed. 

"  Look  yonder  !  " 

The  chaplain  did  as  bidden,  following  a  motion  of 
his  wife's  hand,  and  saw  the  folds  of  a  huge  black  cur 
tain  slowly  rising  from  in  front  of  one  of  the  temple 
alcoves. 

"  Woman's  sorrow  is  tardily  lifted !  "  exclaimed  his 
wife ;  then  there  came  to  his  ears  words  of  human 
voices,  which  were  joining  in  the  almost  human-like 
moanings  of  the  organ  ; 

"In  Rama  was  there  a  voice  heard; 
Lamentation  and  weeping  and  great  mourning; 
Rachel  weeping  for  her  children, 
And  would  not  be  comforted, 
Because  they  are  not." 

"  Rachel  and  funeral  dirges  seem  still  distant  from 
the  songs  of  the  angels  in  Judea  !  " 

"  Rachel  is  here  likened  to  Mary  by  the  Apostle 
Matthew." 

"  I  liken  Rachel  to  Miriamne :  for  the  former  Jacob 
served  fourteen  years  which,  for  the  love  he  bore  her, 
seemed  but  a  few  days.  Cornelius  could  have  done  as 
much  for  Miriamne." 


6oo  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  My  knightly  spouse  goes  from  Betlilehem  himself 
toward  Bethany.  Go  back  now." 

"  I  listen  ;  lead  me." 

"  At  Rama,  the  site  of  the  tomb  of  Mary's  son,  the 
converted  publican,  St.  Matthew,  told  how  death  be 
gan  its  cruel  hunt  of  the  Virgin's  loved  Child  at  His 
very  cradle.  Sorrow  envies  joy  ;  death  battles  life,  and 
ever  more  woman's  love,  the  choicest  rose  of  life,  has 
been  crossed  by  the  destroyer  of  human  happiness  ; 
that  is  human  hatings." 

"  But  how  is  Rachel  so  like  Mary  ?  " 

"  A  common  agony  and  common  needs  make  all 
women  akin." 

"  I  accord  great  homage  to  the  woman  who  taught 
one  so  selfish,  gnarled  and  rugged  of  soul  as  Jacob  was 
to  love  so  deeply,  as  he  was  taught  to  love  by  her,  and 
yet  almost  infinitely  I  separate  her  from  our  Rose  and 
Queen." 

"  Rachel  died  a  martyr  in  maternity  and  therefore  is 
worthy  of  place  among  the  regal  women  of  earth. 
She  was  one  of  that  line  of  women  who  gave  their 
jives  for  others.  The  line  survives,  and  suffers  through 
the  years  ;  all-worthy,  but  not  fully  honored.  Saint 
Matthew  touched  an  all-responsive  chord  when  he 
voiced  the  Divine  pity  for  all  motherhood,  by  placing 
the  sorrows  of  Rachel  and  of  Mary  side  by  side.  The 
plain  man  unconsciously  soars  to  the  plane  of  the 
prophets  and  poets  when  he  is  moved  by  human  need 
or  Divine  justice." 

"The  lesson  is  irresistible,  but  still  I'm  waiting  for 
the  celestial  melodies  that  awakened  the  shepherd  the 
night  of  the  Nativity  !  " 

"  My  partner  shall  get  by  giving.     Here  is  a  parch- 


A  Chime  and  a  Dirge  at  Christinas  Time.        60 1 

merit  given  me  years  ago  to  read  for  my  mother's  con 
solation  after  the  death  of  my  brothers.  Read  it,  thou, 
to  the  matrons  and  maidens  when  the  chantings 
cease." 

After  a  time  there  was  silence  !  the  hush  of  expecta 
tion,  for  that  gathering  was  wont  at  ti.nes  to  wait  for 
words  of  blessing  from  the  missioners,  as  the  hart  for 
the  rivulet  at  the  beginnings  of  the  rain. 

"  Read  !  "  whispered  Miriamne,  "  but  not  as  the  tra 
gedian  !  Read  as  a  father  and  lover,  both  in  one." 
The  young  man  complied,  and  these  were  the  words  of 
the  parchment  : 

"  There  was  a  man  named  Jehoikim  who,  impressed  of 
God  thereto,  offered  a  lamb  in  sacrifice.  As  he  slew  it  his 
heart  was  touched  with  tenderness,  and  he  would  have 
staid  his  hand,  but  God  gave  him  strength  to  perform  the 
command.  After  this  a  daughter,  called  Alary,  was  born  to 
him.  Whenever  he  looked  upon  her  gentle  face  he  remem 
bered  the  bleating  lamb,  and  was  certain  that  some  way  his 
child  was  to  be  a  sacrifice  to  God.  And  it  was  so  ;  for  she 
bore  a  Son  to  whom  she  gave  all  the  wealth  of  a  mother's 
love,  but  at  last  He  was  offered  for  man's  sin  upon  a  felon's 
cross,  the  agony  He  felt  reaching  the  heart  of  his  mother. 
As  lhe  Son  gave  Himself  up  for  the  world,  so  she  gave  her 
self  up  for  her  Son.  She  was  sustained  through  it  all  by 
a  conscience  void  of  offense,  and  by  the  ministry  of  angels. 
Alone  to  the  world,  she  had  no  solitude,  for  though  her  es 
pousal  to  God  had  no  human  witness,  even  as  Eve's  to  Adam 
had  none,  and  both  were  inexperienced,  God  was  at  her 
nuptials,  as  He  is  ever  with  those  who  purely  give  them 
selves  to  Him." 

Then  the  wife  wept  and  was  silent. 

"  My  darling,  what  so  moves  you  ?  I've  never 
experienced  such  a  Christmas.  You  make  the  feast  as 
solemn  as  the  holy  supper." 

There  came  no  answer  ;  but  'ere  the  husband  could 
turn  to  seek  a  reason  it  came  in  a  cry  from  the  audience, 


602  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

and  a  thronging  from  all  directions  toward  where  the 
missioners  were. 

"  Miriamne  has  fallen  !  " 

"  'Tis  a  swoon  ?" 

"  No,  'tis  death  !  "  There  were  surgings  back  and 
forth,  voices  suggesting  helps,  voices  filled  with  stifled 
sobs,  and  voices  of  fright  in  the  trebles  of  hysteria. 

The  sick  woman  was  borne  by  strong  men  to  her 
domicile,  and  then  began  the  tension  of  waiting.  The 
young  chaplain  was  entering  the  valley  of  poignant 
pains  by  sympathy's  pathway,  bound  by  that  mystic 
chain  whose  links  are  in  the  words  :  "These  twain  shall 
be  one  flesh."  Herein  is  a  mystery  often  repeated  ; 
the  man's  grief  was  supplemented  by  a  consciousness 
of  vague  pains  passing  along  unseen  lines  from  the 
woman  to  himself.  Slowly  Miriamne  recovered  con 
sciousness  ;  but  still  she  hovered  on  the  confines  of 
woman's  supreme  hour,  the  hour  when  great  fear  haunts 
great  hopes,  great  weakness  yields  to  miraculous 
influxes  of  power,  and  great  joy,  in  company  with 
unutterable  yearnings,  moves  along  under  the  shadows 
and  by  the  gulfs  of  greatest  perils.  About  her 
gathered  a  group  of  matrons  of  her  sisterhood,  pressing 
to  serve  their  beloved. 

One  whispered  to  another :  "  Her  face  is  unearthly, 
like  Mary's  as  we  saw  it  in  the  '  Assumption  '  to-day." 

The  one  that  heard  the  words  answered  with  a  sob. 
The  voice  of  pain  called  the  drooping  woman  quickly 
from  her  semi-stupor  to  ministry,  and  opening  her  eyes 
she  tenderly  murmured  to  the  woman  that  sobbed, 
"  Remember  what  he  said  :  '  Women  of  Jerusalem,  weep 
not* for  me  ;  but  weep  for  yourselves  and  children.'  If 
I  go  'twill  be  all  well ;  yes,  by  His  grace,  all  well  with 


A  Chime  and  a  Dirge  at  Christmas  Time.       603 

me.  Let  all  your  pity  follow  the  pilgrims  of  our  sex 
who  tarry  to  painfully  journey  through  years  of  trial, 
unrequited." 

A  little  later  Cornelius  was  hastily  summoned  by 
one  that  sought  him,  from  the  shadows  of  an  arch  of 
the  roof,  whither  he  had  gone  for  a  few  moments'  soli 
tude,  in  which  to  plead,  as  only  can  a  man  who  writhes 
in  the  fear  of  having  his  life  torn  in  two. 

"  Miriamne  asks  for  her  husband."  He  heard  the 
words  and  was  by  his  consort's  side  instantly.  Her 
eyes  were  closed,  but  taking  her  pale  hand  tenderly  in 
his  he  impressed  a  kiss  on  her  brow.  She  opened  her 
eyes  full  upon  him,  with  a  gaze  of  undying  love. 

"You  kissed  my  brow,  the  first  kiss  as  a  lover.  Then 
you  said  it  was  given  in  the  spirit  of  reverential  admi 
ration.  Has  marriage  ever  changed  the  thought?" 

"  Never!  " 

"  If  I  should  leave  you,  do  you  think  you  could  tell 
others  how  to  love  so?" 

"  Oh,  1  can,  surely  ;  if  I  can  do  any  thing,  alone !  " 
And  then  came  to  him  the  silence  of  a  dumb  grief.  She 
saw  his  agony  and  pitied  him,  yet  serenely  she  spoke : 

"  Go  onward,  beloved,  in  the  way  of  the  prophet's 
vision  ;  the  power  of  Christ  be  with  you  ;  the  life  of 
Mary  is  an  open  book;  speak  to,  work  for  those  most 
needing,  then  will  you  have  your  constant  Pentecost 
with  the  ever  present  '  Grail.' ' 

Cornelius  pressed  the  hand  he  held  tenderly ;  he 
could  not  speak. 

"  Repeat  to  me  the  beautiful  words  concerning  the 
Harvest  Feast  which  you  heard  out  of  Moses  at  the 
service  that  so  blessed  you  at  Jerusalem,"  she  continued 
again.  Then,  mastering  his  voice,  he  complied : 


604  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"And  thou  shalt  keep  the  feast  of  weeks  unto  the 
Lord  thy  God  with  a  tribute  of  a  freewill-offering  of 
thine  hand,  which  thou  shalt  give  unto  the  Lord  thy 
God,  according  as  the  Lord  thy  God  hath  blessed  thee: 

"  And  thou  shalt  rejoice  before  the  Lord  thy  God, 
thou,  and  thy  son,  and  thy  daughter,  and  thy  manser 
vant,  and  thy  maidservant,  and  the  Levite  that  is 
within  thy  gates,  and  the  stranger,  and  the  fatherless, 
and  the  widow,  that  are  among  you,  in  the  place  which 
the  Lord  thy  God  hath  chosen  to  place  His  name  there." 

When  he  finished  the  words  he  hid  his  face  in  his 
hands. 

"  Thou  art  weary,  my  good  master,"  spoke  a  Jewish 
mother  present.  "Go  now  and  rest.  I'll  watch." 

Quickly,  gently,  firmly  he  waved  her  away,  as  one 
unwittingly  trying  to  draw  him  from  the  gates  of 
heaven. 

"  It  is  not  usual,"  she  persisted,  "  for  a  man  to  serve 
this  way;  then  thou  hast  other  and  more  important 
duties,  our  holy  missioner!  " 

He  found  voice  to  speak,  and  needed  to  restrain 
himself  from  indignant  tone.  It  seemed  as  if  it  were 
impiety  now,  so  great  his  love,  to  speak  of  any  duty  as 
higher  than  that  lie  had  toward  this  one  woman,  more 
to  him  than  all  the  world  beside.  "  No  ;  if  I  were  on 
the  cross  she  would  be  there,  another  Mary  ;  if  I  am  now 
in  torture  I'd  be  no  Christian  if  I  did  not  emulate  Him 
who,  amid  crucial  agonies,  between  t\vo  worlds,  cried 
as  inmost  thought  of  His  heart,  '  Behold  thy  Hot  her  !  ' ' 

He  felt  Miriamne's  hand  pressing  his,  and  drawing 
him  closer  to  herself. 

"  Cornelius,  I'm  leaning  now  as  never  before  upon 
my  husband's  loyal  heart !  " 


A  Chime  and  a  Dirge  at  Christmas  Time.       605 

It  seemed  to  the  man  as  if  she  were  nigh  to  crying: 
"'  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me !  "  and 
as  if  to  answer  his  own  thought  he  exclaimed: 

"  He  will  be  Father,  I  as  a  mother,  Miriamne,  my 
Miriamne  !  " 

Grief  had  made  him  an  interpreter.  It  was  as  he 
thought,  the  heart  of  the  young  woman,  woman-like, 
had  been  groping  about  for  mother-love.  Memory 
had  been  busy,  but  had  sent  the  heart  of  the  woman 
back  from  groping  amid  the  graves  of  Bozrah  all  weary, 
to  nestle  and  rest  on  the  breast  of  him  that  gave 
mother-love,  and  promised  all  else  that  loyal  heart  ere 
gave. 

But  all  was  not  gloomful ;  the  clouds  were  shot 
through  and  tinted  by  some  light-rays. 

"What  if  our  forebodings  prove  untrue?" 

Hope's  question  was  as  a  north  wind  to  a  desert 
noon. 

Once  the  man  bashfully  questioned  his  spouse,  with 
broken  sentence  that  was  half  signs. 

"  Does  Miriamne  feel  aught  of  reproach  toward  the 
great  love,  seemingly  not  far  from  utter  selfishness, 
which  enchanted  to  this  peril?" 

"  Could  Madonna  reproach  God  when  she  felt  the 
heart-piercing  sword  ?  To  Him  she  submitted,  no  less 
do  I  in  doing  and  suffering  as  He  wills!  " 

It  has  been  said  a  woman's  heart  is  complex,  but 
this  one's  was  not  now.  It  lay  open,  as  a  book,  before 
her  lover-husband.  He  saw  no  idol  there  but  himself. 
Had  there  ever  been  hidden  remembrance  of  some 
girlish  love,  some  secret  scar  left  by  a  romance,  both 
burning  and  brief,  it  would  have  been  opened  or  effaced 
now. 


606  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

As  she  beheld  her  consort,  this  time  more  loved,  \'. 
possible,  than  ever  before,  knightly,  courtly  and  tender, 
alert  and  strong  to  help,  lavish  in  caressing,  she  not. 
only  felt  conquered,  but  filled  with  desire  to  surren 
der  to  the  uttermost ;  for  she  joyed  to  place  this  man 
on  the  throne  of  her  being  next  after  God,  supremely 
lord  over  all.  So  together  they  moved  amid  the 
flowers  of  Beulah-land,  under  the  glorious  lights  of 
married  love.  She  all  compensated  for  the  pangs  the 
trying  hour  brought  ;  he  thrilled,  as  he  ascended 
higher  and  higher  from  lover  love  to  husband  love,  to 
that  holy  delight  that  comes  to  a  man  beginning  to 
feel  fatherhood,  the  gift  of  the  woman  his  heart  has 
enthroned.  For  a  little  time  both  were  too  happy  to 
speak,  so  they  let  their  thoughts  wing  their  way  up 
ward  to  the  eternities  where  hopes  eternally  blossom. 
She  presently  signaled  him  to  draw  close  to  her,  then 
his  clasped  hands  lay  on  her  heart,  and  their  lips  met. 
She  said  nothing,  yet  by  a  sign-language  well  under 
stood  by  each,  plainly  entreated  him  to  tell  her  over 
and  over,  more  and  more,  his  inmost  thought,  that  her 
heart  knew  full  well  already. 

She  heard  his  heart's  beatings,  then  she  whispered: 
"  Don't  be  anxious ;  all  is  well,  for  all  is  as  He  that  loves 
us  wills." 

"  Oh,  Miriamne,  I  loved  you  never  as  now  ;  God  bless 
you  !  bless  you  !  bless  you  !  " 

She  interrupted  him  again.  "The  crisis  is  coming, 
and  I  thought  perhaps  I  might  not  survive,  Cornelius, 
but  if  I  do  not— 

Her  words  were  silenced  by  an  impassioned  kiss. 

She  continued,  "  I  dreamed,  last  night,  that  I  saw 
the  shadow  of  a  cross,  but  on  it  a  woman's  form." 


A  Chime  and  a  Dirge  at  Christmas  Time.        607 

*  Oh,  beloved,  do  not  think  of  it !  " 

"I  do.     I  must!      I  understand  it  all." 

Pity  now  silenced  her. 

"Oh,  Miriamne ! "  he  cried  anon,  as  he  saw  her  de 
scending  into  the  vale  of  agony,  from  which  he  could 
not  hold  her  back.  He  dare  say  no  more.  He  feared 
to  voice  his  thoughts,  lest  his  fears  become  ponderous 
and  huge,  once  they  found  escape  in  the  garb  of 
words. 

Just  past  midnight  the  dispatched  courier  arrived, 
bringing  twain  of  the  most  skilled  physicians  of  Jeru 
salem. 

Cornelius  watched  them  with  an  interest  beyond 
words.  His  heart  sank  down  and  down  again,  as  he 
saw  them  in  serious  consultation.  Unable  to  restrain 
himself,  he  seized  the  elder,  and  drawing  him  hastily 
aside,  demanded  an  opinion.  The  grave  old  man  only 
shook  his  head,  saying  :  "  We  may  save  one." 

"One?     One! 
Which  ?     What  ?  " 

"  Young  man,  be  quiet ;  do  not  let  thy  emotions 
disturb  the  patient  or  the  nurses.  Prepare  for  the 
worst." 

The  husband  seized  the  wrinkled  hand  of  the  aged 
practitioner,  and  then  flung  it  from  him,  crying  :  "  It 
must  not  be!  It  shall  not  be!"  Instantly  he  rushed 
toward  the  couch,  but  the  two  men  of  healing  inter 
cepted  him.  Then  the  elder  one  said:  "We  must  be 
obeyed,  or  else  we  will  give  no  commands  !  Shall  we 
go  or  stay  ?  " 

What  a  revulsion  came  !  It  seemed  to  Cornelius  as 
if  these  two  men  of  skill  were  angels,  and  flinging  his 
arms  about  them,  he  hoarsely  whispered :  "  Save, 


608  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

save !  Stay  and  save !  All  I  have  I  give  you,  only 
save  her!  " 

Quietly  they  led  him  to  the  adjoining  apartment; 
then  charged  him,  as  he  hoped  for  any  good  to  his  wife, 
not  to  re-enter  her  chamber  until  sent  for.  Reluctantly 
he  consented,  not  daring  to  do  otherwise  and  yet  be 
lieving  in  his  very  soul  that  in  this  hour  of  peril  the 
bestowment  of  love's  caresses  on  the  invalid  would  be 
better  than  any  skill  of  the  stranger.  He  withdrew  to 
the  arch  on  the  roof,  where  unmolested  he  could  pray. 
But  his  meditations  were  full  of  miserable  sights,  He 
thought  of  the  Egyptians  in  their  feats  of  Osiris,  lead 
ing  to  sacrifice  the  heifer  draped  in  black ;  then  of  Riz- 
pah  defending  her  relatives;  then  of  the  monument  in 
Bozrah,  with  the  mother  holding  her  dead  Son.  He 
thought,  amid  the  latter  meditations,  of  himself  creep 
ing  about  that  monument,  in  the  night,  until  he  came 
to  another,  on  which  he  deciphered  the  name,  "  Miri- 
amne."  The  imagination  gave  him  a  shock,  and  he 
gave  way  to  it  exhausted.  An  hour  or  so  after  he  was 
awakened  from  a  sort  of  stupor  by  the  younger  of  the 
physicians,  who,  standing  by  his  side,  addressed  him: 

"Sir  Priest,  thou  mayst  come  now;  but  as  thy  pro 
fession  teaches,  nerve  thyself  to  confront  any  fate,  good 
or  ill." 

"How's  my  wife?"  exclaimed  the  stricken  man, 
leaping  from  his  couch  and  approaching  the  speaker, 
that  he  might  devour  with  his  eyes  the  thought  of  the 
one  he  questioned. 

The  emotionless  features  of  the  man  accustomed  to 
confront  human  suffering  softened  a  little  to  pity.  The 
quick  eye  of  the  missioner  discerned  the  change,  then 
he  cried  : 


A  Chime  andjz  Dirge  at  Christmas  Time.      609 

"What,  dead!" 

"  No ;  if  thou  wilt  but  control  thyself,  thou  mayst 
see  her  for  a  little  while  ;  there'll  be  a  change  soon." 

The  nruin  of  healing  had  done  and  said  his  best,  but 
*Ji3.t  was  bad  enough.  He  had  tried  to  comfort,  but 
the  exigencies  were  beyond  human  powers.  "A 
change  soon  !  " 

Hard,  mocking  words.  Apology  for  bad  news  !  Step 
ping-stone  to  saying  the  worst  is  at  hand  ;  words  so 
often  used  by  the  man  of  healing  when  his  art  is  de 
feated  !  How  like  a  funeral  knell  breaking  the  heart 
has  come,  again  and  again,  to  tingling  ears  those  terri 
ble  sounds:  "In — a — little — while — there'll— be — a — 
change  !  "  Cornelius  felt  all  their  stunning  force,  and 
was  instantly  by  the  side  of  Miriamne.  What  a 
change  met  his  hungry  eyes!  The  fever  had  died 
away ;  fever,  that  blast  from  the  shores  of  Death's 
ocean,  had  passed,  because  there  was  nothing  longer 
for  it  to  attack.  The  tide  was  ebbing.  She  lay  silent, 
pale  and  haggard  ;  motionless,  except  as  to  a  feeble 
breathing.  The  husband  would  have  encircled  her 
with  his  arms.  It  was  love's  impulse,  but  science,  the 
men  of  healing,  restrained  him.  There  was  a  little  wail 
just  then,  and  he 'glanced  around  with  a  look  of  joy. 
The  nurse  had  brought  the  babe  close  to  him,  turning 
away  her  own  face  to  hide  her  tears,  but  holding  the 
little  one  out  as  if  trying  to  say:  "This  shall  com 
pensate."  Then  again  the  grief-stricken  man  turned 
to  the  physicians  and  whispered,  in  a  half-fierce,  half- 
terrified  way:  "She'll  live — she'll  be  better  now." 

The  aged  man,  slowly  adjusting  the  paraphernalia  of 
his  profession  preparatory  to  departure,  replied  :  "  Few 
survive  the  Caesarean  section.  It  was  a  dire  necessity." 


610  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  Lord,  behold  whom  Thou  lovest  is  sick,"  moaned 
the  young  chaplain,  as  he  knelt  by  the  couch  and 
buried  his  face  in  its  disordered  covering.  So  the  tide 
of  life  ebbed  at  midnight,  leaving  a  stranded  wreck  at 
Bethany,  and  the  Christmas  chimes  turned  to  dirges. 


CHAPTER  XLI1 

1HE  MOTHER  OF  SORROWS  TRIUMPHANT  AT  LAS1 

Are  we  not  kings  ?     Both  night  and  day, 

From  ear-ly  unto  late, 
About  our  bed,  about  our  way, 

A  guard  of  angels  wait ! 
And  so  we  watch  and  work  and  pray 

In  more  than  royal  state. 
Are  we  not  more  ?     GUI  life  shall  be 

Immortal  and  divine  ; 
The  nature  MARY  gave  to  THEE, 

Dear  JESUS,  still  is  THINE; 
Adoring,  in  THY  heart  I  see 

Such  blood  as  beats  in  mint. 

— A.  A.  PROCTOR. 

UNDREDS  were  assembled  within  the 
"  Temple  of  Allegory"  and  other  hundreds, 
unable  to  effect  an  entrance,  tarried  around 
about  it.  The  knell  of  Miriatnne,  the 
Angel  of  the  Mount,  had  called  the  vast  congregation 
together  from  Bethany,  from  the  country  round  about 
and  from  the  City  of  Jerusalem. 

There  were  many  signs  of  subdued  sorrow,  but  the 
intensive  expression  of  grief  common  in  the  East  was 
absent  ;  neither  was  there  any  of  the  paganish  black 
ness,  which  sometimes  characterizes  Christians'  funerals, 
manifest.  Though  Miriamne  was  dead,  her  sweet, 
trustful,  cheerful  spirit  still  survived  and  still  ruled. 


5i2  The  Queen  of '  i 'he  House  of  David. 

The  knights  of  Jerusalem,  led  by  the  Hospitaler, 
were  present,  the  latter  to  direct  the  services,  by  re 
quest  generally  extended. 

After  a  "grail"  song  by  his  companions,  and  at  its 
last  words,  "  /  shall  be  satisfied  when  I  aivake  in  His 
likeness,"  the  Hospitaler  began  discoursing. 

"  Men  and  women,  death,  the  leveler,  makes  us  all 
akin ;  therefore  all  of  us  feel  impoverished  by  the  de 
parture  of  the  angel  who  shone  upon  us  here  from 
the  form  that  lies  yonder.  Miriamne  Woelfkin,  daugh 
ter  of  a  knight,  consort  of  a  Gospel  herald,  devoted 
friend  of  womankind,  disciple  of  Jesus,  was  gifted  with 
almost  prophetic  insight  and  power  of  alluring  unsur 
passed  in  our  day.  Hers  was  the  power  of  a  burning 
heart  entranced  of  a  superb  ideal,  and  therefore  was  it 
the  power  of  immortal  influence.  She  will  live  not 
more  truly  in  the  life  she  died  to  give  than  in  the  lives 
she  lived  to  save.  She  was  an  unique  woman,  but  only 
so  because  of  her  superior  womanliness.  Being  dead, 
she  reaches  the  reward  generally  denied  the  living,  full 
appreciation.  Her  career  was  in  part  a  parallel  of  her 
choice  exemplar's.  You  have  heard  how  the  Mother  of 
our  Lord  sung  her  'Magnificat'  <Nut  of  a  heart  as  free 
as  a  girl's,  yet  as  proud  as  that  of  a  woman's  glowing 
in  the  prospect  of  honoring  maternity.  But  the  last 
note  of  her  rapture  died  on  her  lips  full  soon,  and  she 
never  after  in  this  life  rose  to  such  measure  of  joy. 
God  permitted  her  life  to  pass  through  a  series  of  sup 
pressions  and  griefs,  doubtless  that  she  might  exem 
plify  the  sad  side  of  woman's  career.  The  histories 
of  women,  mostly  written  by  men,  are  marred  by  the 
conceits  of  their  writers,  and  are  at  best  but  obscure 
pictures.  The  man  with  the  pen  lacks  insight  as  to  the 


The  Mother  of  Sorroivs  Triumphant  at  Last.      613 

being,  whose  life  is  so  largely  an  expression  of  heart 
and  soul.  The  lordly  writer  clothes  his  heroes  in  the 
light  of  his  fevered  imagination,,  depicting  with  bold 
stroke  the  mighty  deeds  of  stalwartness  ;  but  he  sees 
few  heroines  in  his  horizon.  Those  he  does  see  are 
beyond  his  power  of  analysis.  He  falls  to  actual 
worship  of  his  masculine  demi-gods,  perhaps  as  a  par 
tial  atonement  for  his  failings  toward  the  fine  and 
noble  characters  whose  traits  are  too  spiritual  for  his 
thought-limits  or  vocabularies.  The  generality  of  those 
who  discourse  concerning  women,  do  it  in  a  patronizing 
way,  and  feel  to  praise  themselves  as  paragons  in  doing 
justice  in  this,  even  by  halves.  The  queenship  of  Mary 
is  constantly  disputed,  and  so  her  lot  is  more  closely 
linked  with  that  of  her  sex.  As  she  received  the  royal 
gifts  of  the  Magi,  holding  them  as  a  sacred  trust  for 
Him  to  whom  her  life  was  utterly  devoted,  so  woman, 
the  bearer  and  nurse  of  the  race,  gives  all  that  she  has 
without  stint  to  others.  Her  life  is  a  suppression;  all 
bestowing ;  her  reward  the  joy  she  has  in  the  lavish- 
ness  of  her  bestowals.  Hers  is  the  joy  of  the  fountain 
that  sings  because  it  flows. 

"  But  recently  ye  saw  the  Jewish  priests  deposit  on 
this  mount,  after  a  custom  constant  since  Moses,  the 
ashes  of  the  red  heifer.  They  burned  their  sacrifice 
with  red  wood.  Red  pointed  to  the  blood  that  can 
only  atone  for  sin.  But  underneath  all  lies  a  deep  les 
son.  'Twas  the  female  instead  of  the  male  thus  offered, 
and  her  ashes  gave  potency  to  the  waters  of  purifica 
tion.  I  read  this  hidden  truth  :  the  sacrifices  of  the 
gentler  sex  work  out  the  purification  of  the  race.  As 
the  moss  in  the  heart  of  the  stone,  I  see  this  truth  ly 
ing  in  the  heart  of  the  ceremonial !  As  Christ's  cross 


614  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David, 

precedes  the  cleansing  of  regeneration,  so  woman's  cross 
is  the  means  by  which  the  decays  cf  life  are  offset  by 
new  created  beings..  By  the  bier  of  the  wondrous 
comforter  of  others,  I  may  surely  appeal  to  those 
who  hear  n\e  and  loved  her  to  seek  with  quickened  ardor 
to  offer  the  pain-assuaging  myrrhs  to  those  grand  souls 
who  go  along  the  way  to  life's  crucial  glories.  I'd  have 
such  justice  done  as  would  cause  all  women  to  cease 
pitying  themselves  because  they  are  such,  and  go  about 
rejoicing  that  God  gave  them  the  superlative  privi 
leges  of  womanhood." 

There  came  forth  a  loud  cry,  with  meanings,  from 
the  part  of  the  temple,  called  the  "  Mother's  Pillow," 
where  the  honored  dead  lay. 

"  Miriamne,  oh,  Miriamne,  you  brought  me  through 
Gethsemane  to  your  Calvary  !  " 

A  silence  almost  oppressive  fell  on  the  assembly.  It 
was  the  silence  of  a  pity  too  deep  for  words. 

Then  spake  the  Hospitaler,  in  words  as  invigorating 
as  a  herald  of  God's  should  be,  and  yet  as  soothing  as 
a  mother's  to  her  child  in  pain  : 

"Christ,  who  loved  the  young  man  who  was  very 
good  and  yet  not  perfect,  loves  thee,  for  He  is  un 
changing  in  His  mercy.  Hear  me,  an  old  man,  stricken 
with  the  years  that  have  schooled,  and  one  who  has  ex 
perienced  the  bitterness  of  widowerhood  after  loyal,  full 
loving.  God's  hand  is  on  thee.  He  is  schooling  thee 
to  carry  on  the  work  begun  by  thy  wondrous  consort 
now  asleep." 

"  Oh,  Miriamne,  Miriamne  !  alone  in  the  dark,  I  move 
through  Gethsemane  toward  thy  Calvary  !  " 

Again  the  silence  of  pity  was  broken  by  the  voice  of 
the  knight. 


The  Mother  of  Sorrows  Triumphant  at  Last.      615 

"  Remember  ho\v  David  of  the  White  Kingdom  was 
called  and  furnished  for  his  kingship.  '  He  chose 
David,  also,  His  servant,  and  took  him  from  the  sheep 
folds,  from  following  the  ewes  great  with  young.  He 
brought  him  to  feed  Jacob,  His  people,  and  Israel,  His 
inheritance.' 

"  Missioner-shepherd,  God  calls  thee  to  a  ministry  of 
love,  for  those  whose  trials  thou  hast,  now  been  taught,  in 
part,  to  measure.  You  have  heard  how  Hadadrimmon, 
the  fabled  god  of  the  harvest,  ever  comes,  bearing 
sheaves,  with  tears. 

"  Thus  speaks  the  prophet : 

"  '  In  that  day  shall  there  be  a  great  mourning  in  Jeru 
salem,  as  the  mourning  of  Hadadrimmon. 

"  '  And  the  land  shall  mourn,  every  family  apart ;  the 
family  of  the  house  of  David  apart,  and  their  wives 
apart.' 

"  Young  man,  God  is  giving  thee  a  crown  in  David's 
royal  line. 

"  Once  more  I  turn  to  her  who  was  thy  Miriamne's 
exemplar  and  queen.  Let  me  tell  you  all  of  the  last 
hours  of  Mary,  that  you  may  find  instructive  parallels. 
I'll  read  from  my  treasured  book  of  traditions  : 

"  After  the  ascension  of  Jesus,  our  Mary  dwelt  in  the 
house  of  John  upon  Mount  of  Olives,  and  she  spent  her  last 
days  in  visiting  places  which  had  been  hallowed  by  her 
Divine  Son  ;  not  as  seeking  the  living  among  the  dead,  but 
for  consolation  and  for  remembrance  and  that  she  might 
perform  works  of  charity. 

"  In  the  twenty-second  year  after  the  ascension  of  the  Lord, 
she  was  filled  with  an  inexpressible  longing  to  be  with  her 
Son  ;  and,  lo,  an  angel  appearing  with  the  salutation,  '  Hail, 
Mary,  I  bring  thee  a  palm-branch,  gathered  in  paradise  ; 
command  that  it  be  carried  before  thy  bier,  for  thou  shalt 
enter  where  thy  son  awaits  thee.'  And  Mary  prayed  that  it 


616  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

be  permitted  that  the  apostles,  now  widely  scattered  under 
their  great  commission  to  gospel  the  world,  be  gathered 
kbout  her  dying  couch  ;  also  that  her  soul  be  not  affrighted 
in  the  passage  through  the  pale  realm  of  death.  The  angel 
departed  ;  the  palm-branch  beside  her  shed  light  like  stars 
from  every  leaf  ;  the  house  was  filled  with  splendor,  and 
ingel  voices  chanted  the  celestial  canticles.  The  Holy  Spirit 
caught  up  John  as  he  was  preaching  at  Ephesus,  and 
L'eter,  offering  sacrifice  at  Rome,  and  Paul,  from  his  place 
Of  labor,  Thomas,  from  India,  while  Matthew  and  James  were 
tummoned  from  afar.  After  these  were  called,  Philip,  An 
drew,  Luke,  Simon,  Mark  and  Bartholemew  were  awakened 
from  their  sleep  of  death.  These  holy  ones  were  carried  to 
the  Virgin's  home  on  clouds  bright  as  the  morning,  and 
angels  and  powers  gathered  round  about  in  multitudes. 
There  were  Gabriel  and  Michael  close  beside  her,  fanning 
her  with  their  wings,  which  never  cease  their  loving  motions. 
That  night  a  supernal  perfume  of  ravishing  delightsomeness 
filled  the  house,  and  immediately  Jesus,  with  an  innumer 
able  company  of  patriarchs  and  holy  ones,  the  elect  of  God, 
approached  the  dying  mother.  And  Jesus  stretched  out 
His  hand  in  benediction  as  He  did  when  ascending  from  the 
world,  long  before  at  Bethany.  Then  Mary  tenderly  took  the 
hand  and  kissed  it,  saying: '  I  bow  before  the  hand  that  made 
heaven  and  earth.  Oh,  Lord,  take  me  to  Thyself  ! '  There 
upon  Christ  said,  '  Arise,  my  beloved  ;  come  unto  me.'  'My 
heart  is  ready,'  she  replied  ;  a  few  moments  after  :  '  Lord, 
unto  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit.'  Then  having  gently 
closed  her  eyes,  the  holy  Virgin  expired  without  a  malady  ; 
simply  of  consuming  love,  permitted  now  by  the  loving  Cre 
ator  to  melt  the  golden  cord  binding  spirit  to  body.  And 
triumphantly  amid  mourners  who  rejoiced  exceedingly  in 
spirit,  the  body  of  this  Queen  of  the  House  of  David  was 
entombed  amid  the  solemn  cedars  and  olive  trees  of  Geth- 
semane.  Now,  this  happened  upon  the  day  that  the  true 
Ark  of  the  Covenant  was  placed  in  the  eternal  temple  of  the 
new  heavenly  Jerusalem,  as  they  say  ;  and  the  saying  is  good, 
for  surely,  in  her  heart,  this  saintly  woman  kept  the  law;  the 
divine  manna  as  well.  Even  more,  she  was  the  fulfillment 
of  God's  covenant  that  a  woman  should  bear  the  masterers 
of  sin." 

The  speaker  then  knelt ;  all  heads  were  bowed ;  he 


The  Mother  of  Sorrows  Triumphant  at  Last.      617 

spread  out  his  hands  as  in  benediction,  but  spoke  not. 
Yet  all  in  the  silence  were  blessed,  for  the  manifesta 
tion  of  Christ  was  there.  After  the  benediction  the 
companion  knights  chanted  an  old  grail  psalm,  repeat 
ing  again  and  again  the  stately  words : 

"  /  a»i  the  resurrection  and  the  life." 

As  they  sang  their  eyes  were  turned  upward  in  a 
rapture  as  of  men  who  saw  a  glorious  appearing ;  and 
indeed  they  had  a  vision  of  splendor  ;  but  they  saw  it 
within,  not  without. 

"There  are  angels  hovering  round,"  reverently  whis 
pered  Mahmood  to  his  camel.  He  was  too  full  to  keep 
silent ;  too  distrustful  of  his  \visdom  to  confide  his 
thoughts  to  a  human  being.  But  the  thought  of  the 
old  Druse  was  as  exalted  as  that  of  the  Hospitaler,  for 
the  latter  exclaimed,  as  the  congregation  slowly  moved 
out  to  the  strains  of  the  organ  : 

"  Methinks  I  hear  the  beatings  of  mighty  wings! 
Not  far  away  is  Gabriel,  the  'angel  of  mothers'  and  of 
victories !  Yea,  verily,  I  believe  that  the  spirits  of 
Adolphus,  Rizpah,  Sir  Charleroy  and  Ichabod  are  min 
istering  nigh  us !  " 

Many  looked  up  through  their  tears  fixedly,  as  if 
they  felt  what  the  knight  had  said  in  their  souls. 

Then  they  laid  the  body  of  Miriamne  in  a  new-made 
tomb  nigh  the  Garden  of  Olives,  not  far  from  the 
burial-place  of  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

A  COFFIN  FULL  OF  FLOWERS  AND  A  GIRDLE  WITH 

WINGS. 

"  Behold  thy  mother !" — JESUS  TO  JOHN. 

WO  travelers  journeyed  slowly  along  Mount 
Olivet,  pausing  anon  to  observe  the  flower- 
dells  between  them  and  Mount  Zion,  or  to 
contemplate  the  wilder  prospects  where  the 
wilderness  of  Judea  edged  close  up  to  the  hills  they  trav 
ersed.  As  the  travelers  passed,  the  natives  looked 
after  them  with  curiosity  ;  for  the  garments  of  the 
former,  though  dust-covered,  were  those  of  person 
ages  above  the  ranks  of  the  common  people  ;  also  of 
a  fashion  that  betokened  them  strangers  in  that 
vicinity. 

One  of  these  men  was  a  youth,  stalwart  and  comely  ; 
the  other  was  gray-haired  and  bent  as  if  by  the  weight 
of  years,  though  a  closer  view  suggested  premature 
blasting,  rather  than  senile  decline. 

"  Winfred,  before  entering  Bethany,  we'll  to  the 
*  Hill  of  Solomon,'  the  site  of  Chemosh,  the  black 
image  of  the  Roman  Saturn." 

Thereupon  the  twain  turned  away  from  the  village 
and  soon  came  upon  a  company  of  revelers,  each  wear 
ing  a  crown  of  autumn  fruits,  and  all  gathered  about 
a  platform  crowded  with  hilarious  dancers 


A  Coffin  Full  of  Flowers,  etc.  619 

"Saturnalia!"  exclaimed  the  elder. 

"  The  worship  of  Saturn  ceased  ages  ago.  did  it 
not?" 

"  Of  the  image,  yes  ;  but  the  folly,  little  changed, 
continues." 

"This  is  strange  enough;  and  yet  it's  a  relief  to 
meet  a  few  happy  people  in  this  land  of  solemn 
faces  ;  even  if  those  happy  ones  do  joy  like  fools." 

"  They  celebrate  the  passing  of  summer-heat  and 
the  coming  of  the  rains  of  autumn.  Say  not  fools; 
they  are  trying  to  be  glad  about  something  good, 
somehow  coming  from  some  one  somewhere  above 
them.  Perhaps  God  can  resolve  scraps  of  thanksgiv 
ing  out  of  it  all." 

"  Theirs  is  the  laughter  of  wine !  the  laughter  of 
the  goat-god,  Pan,  whose  face  scared  his  mother  and 
whose  voice  scared  the  gods  !  " 

"We've  a  persistent  custom  here,  son  ;  and  men  do 
not  play  the  fool  for  generations  after  one  manner, 
at  least,  without  cause. 

"These  attempt  to  press  into  the  court  of  Pleasure 
to  cajole  her;  all  men  do  that;  these  have  chosen 
merely  an  old  way.  They  cling  to  the  myth  of  Sat 
urn,  the  subduer  of  the  Titan  of  fiction.  They  say 
that  deity,  dethroned  in  the  god-world,  fled  to  Italy, 
where  he  gave  happiness  and  plenty  through  life,  and 
the  freedom  of  air  and  earth  after  death,  which  latter  he 
made  to  be  only  a  little  sleep." 

"  That  was  not  more  than  a  mock  golden-age  ;  it 
never  came,  I  think." 

"  But  very  alluring  to  those  that  long  for  it  ;  they 
dance  half-naked,  typifying  the  primitive  times  when 
men  had  fewer  cares,  because  fewer  wants." 


620  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

"  Can  one  laugh  hard  fates  out  of  countenance,  and 
make  his  troubles  run  with  a  guffaw?" 

"The  devotees  of  Saturn  were  wont  to  offer  their 
children  in  his  altar-fires,  and  so  ever  more  it  hap 
pens  ;  he  that  bends  to  the  materialistic  solely,  kindles 
altar-fires  for  his  posterity." 

"  After  to-day  what  comes  to  these,  peace  ?  " 

"  Nay,  a  year  all  dark  and  colorless  ;  then  another 
spasm  called  a  feast — a  brief  lightning-flash  revealing 
the  darkness." 

"  And  so  the  years  come  and  go  ;  one  generation 
of  madmen,  then  another;  death  the  only  variety  ?" 

"Nay!  I'd  have  you  look  upon  pleasure  of  sense 
deified,  taking  its  pleasures  under  the  shadows  of 
Chemosh,  for  a  purpose.  You  remember  we  read  to 
gether,  under  the  palms  at  Babylon,  how  the  holy 
Daniel  saw  in  vision  the  four  winds  of  heaven  striving 
on  the  sea?" 

"  I  remember  the  prophet's  reverie  or  revel." 

"The  four  winds  and  the  sea  !  the  meaning,  opened,  is 
conflict  on  every  hand  on  earth  !  Out  of  the  follies  and 
turmoils  David's  White  Kingdom  will  emerge  at  last. 
Listen  to  the  words  of  the  inspired  sccr : 

"  '  Behold  one  like  the  Son  of  Man  !  There  was  given 
Him  a  dominion  and  a  glory  that  all  people  should 
serve  Him  ;  an  everlasting  dominion  !  ' 

"  It  is  coming;  my  poor  faith,  amid  the  conflicts  and 
revels  of  man,  hears  the  voice  of  God  crying  through 
the  night,  as  in  Eden's  dark  hour :  '  Where  art  tJiou  ?' 
My  last  lesson  to  my  son  awaits  us  at  Bethany ;  let's 
be  going." 

Ere  long  Cornelius  Woelfkin  and  his  son  Winfred 
stood  silently,  and  with  uncovered  heads,  before,  but 


A  Coffin  Full  of  Flowers^  etc.  621 

a  little  apart  from,  a  stately  marble  shaft  that  rose  up 
amid  the  olive  trees  of  Gethsemane.  It  was  night, 
and  they  were  alone.  The  father  motioned  the  son 
back,  and  alone  glided  under  the  shadowing  trees,  to 
ward  the  pillar.  There  the  elder  one  threw  himself 
down  on  the  earth,  close  beside  the  monument  ;  the 
youth,  deeply  moved,  but  unwilling  to  intrude  upon 
the  scene  of  sacred,  silent  grief,  stood  aloof.  In  a 
small  way,  there  was  a  repetition  of  the  grief  of  the 
Man  of  Sorrows,  who  there,  ages  before,  yearned  in  Hi« 
humanity  over  a  lost  world,  over  those  from  whom  His 
heart  was  soon  to  part  for  life.  To  be  sure,  the  cross 
of  Cornelius  Woelfkin  was  infinitely  less  galling,  less 
heavy  than  that  borne  by  his  Master;  and  yet  it  was 
as  heavy  as  he  could  bear,  and  hence  the  pitifulness  of 
his  grief. 

Who  can  lift  the  curtain  from  his  thoughts?  The 
years  roll  back  and  memory's  pictures  pass  through  hi 3 
brain,  at  first  in  joyful  train.  The  lovers  in  London  ; 
the  betrothal  at  sea  ;  the  wedding  at  Jerusalem  ;  the 
ecstatic  consummation  in  years  of  marriage.  Then 
the  painful,  almost  awful  separation  by  death,  that 
never  to  be  forgotten  Christmas  time.  And  then, 
twenty  years  with  leaden  feet  carrying  the  lone-hearted 
man  so  painfully  slow  toward  death's  portals,  for 
which  he  longed  with  unutterable  yearning.  "Oh, 
Miriamne,  Miriamne,  let  me  come,"  he  cried.  The. 
youth,  hearing  the  agonized  utterings,  was  instantly 
by  his  father's  side.  But  the  old  man,  still  oblivious 
to  all  but  his  sorrow  and  his  memories,  moaned  on 
with  deepening  fervor. 

"  Father,"  called  out  the  son.  The  father  rose  to  his 
feet  and  calmly  said  :  "  My  boy,  pity  me.  I'm  weak. 


622  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

But  oh,  you  never  knew  what  it  is  to  have  your  life  sawn 
in  twain  and  be  compelled  then  to  drag  your  half  and 
lacerated  being  along  the  over-clouded  vales  of  an 
undesired  existence ! " 

"  My  mother's  tomb  ?  " 

"  Yes.  I  promised,  as  my  last  service  to  you,  to 
bring  you  to  it.  Its  study  shall  be  the  finish  of  your 
schooling." 

Just  then  the  clouds  broke  away  and  the  moonlight 
fell  full  upon  the  monument.  It  was  a  shaft,  termi 
nating  in  a  crucifix ;  by  its  side  were  two  forms,  one 
that  of  St.  John,  with  face  turned  toward  the  figure  of 
the  dying  Savior;  the  other  that  of  a  woman  kneeling, 
her  face  buried  in  her  hands.  On  the  base  of  the 
cross  was  the  brief  sentence  :  "  Behold  thy  mother." 
As  the  youth  gazed  on  the  farewell  charge  of  Jesus  to 
John,  when  He  commended  to  the  care  of  that  beloved 
disciple  His  sorrowing  mother,  he  started.  It  seemed 
as  if  the  words  had  grown  out  of  the  marble  suddenly 
while  he  was  gazing,  and  for  himself  only.  He  felt  as 
if  he  could  almost  embrace  the  stone. 

The  two  men  were  silent  and  heart  full.  After  a  long 
time,  they  simultaneously  turned  away  toward  Beth 
any.  They  came  to  a  turn  in  the  road  that  would  shut 
out  all  view  of  the  garden  of  sorrow,  and  the  elder 
paused,  loath  to  leave  the  place  where  his  heart  was 
buried. 

Presently  he  spoke  again,  as  if  unconscious  of  any 
other  being  with  him :  "  Oh,  Miriamne,  I  failed  to 
carry  out  the  work  thou  left'st  me  !  How  could  I, 
alone?  I  was  but  half  a  man  without  thee,  my  other 
self !  Miriamne,  Miriamne,  I  can  be  only  nothing  when 
I  can  not  be  with  thee."  Then  the  old  man  lifted  his 


A  Cojfin  Full  of  Flowers i  etc.  623 

hands  as  m  benediction  or  embrace,  and  continued: 
"  Farewell,  a  last  farewell,  sweet,  white  soul,  until  upon 
the  tearless,  healing  shores  of  light  I  say  good  morn 
ing !" 

There  was  a  mighty  pathos  in  the  display  of  this 
old,  ripe,  strong  grief,  which  lived  on  a  love  that  could 
not  die.  The  man  was  a  study.  He  was  of  fine  fibre, 
almost  effeminate,  never  firm,  except  in  his  affection 
for  that  one  woman.  That  was  the  one  strong  trend, 
the  one  anchorage  of  his  life.  He  need  not  study  the 
man  far,  who  strove  to  know  him,  to  discover  that  this 
tenacity  was  not  natural  to  him  always.  It  had  been 
a  growth  under  the  influence  of  the  peerless  wife. 

"  Shall  we  go  on  ?  "  after  a  little  asked  the  son.  With 
a  shudder  and  a  suppressed  sob  the  elder  moved  on, 
but  with  laggard  step,  which  soon  paused.  Just  now, 
the  moon  being  beclouded,  it  was  very  dark  about 
them,  and  the  father  reached  out  his  hand  and  drew 
the  youth  to  his  embrace.  He  whispered:  "Winfred, 
son  of  Miriamne,  you  bear  her  image  in  your  face,  bear 
it  ever  in  heart,  as  well.  I'm  glad  you're  not  so  like 
me."  The  son  tried  to  speak,  but  the  elder  interrupted  : 

"  You'll  ere  long  be  fatherless  as  well  as  motherless, 
but  take  your  mother  for  your  guiding-star.  You 
know  what  your  birth  cost  her.  By  her  death  you 
obtained  life,  as  by  the  Christ's,  immortality.  She 
saved  others,  she  could  not  sav  2  herself ;  but  if  you're 
true  to  her  memory  she'll  have  a  mother's  immortality, 
that  life  that  lives  in  the  life  of  her  child." 

******* 

Let  us  gather  up  the  last  threads  of  our  story.  After 
the  death  of  Miriamne,  the  "Sisters  of  Bethany''  soon 
ceased  to  congregate  at  the  "  House  of  Bethesda,"  in 


624  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

the  city  on  Olivet.  Cornelius  Woelfkin  attempted  for 
a  time  to  carry  forward  the  work  of  the  mission,  but, 
utterly  miserable  himself,  he  did  not  know  how  tc 
bestow  comfort  on  others  ;  a  man,  without  the  intimate 
companionship  of  the  woman  who  had  been  his  in- 
spirer,  he  had  no  discernment  of  the  needs  of  woman, 
nor  power  to  interpret  the  truths  that  were  in  the  Book 
or  in  nature,  those  garners  of  manna. 

The  Hospitaler  was  sent  for  as  an  aid.  He  came 
but  once,  and  then  spoke  as  kindly  as  he  could  to  the 
women  of  Bethany  and  Jerusalem,  and  took  his  fare 
well  of  them  all,  in  closing  words  like  these  : 

"  The  blessed  Miriamne,  child  of  Jesus,  and  emula 
tor  of  Mary,  has  passed  away,  but  Christ  her  Comforter 
and  Savior  may  be  such  to  each  of  you,  that  will. 
Mary's  example,  as  the  inspiration  of  all  women,  can 
never  die.  The  world  has  been  a  battle-ground,  and 
each  of  you  can  here  see  over  the  whole  field  of  con 
flict.  Shall  all  pleasures  be  found  under  the  leader 
ship  of  Bacchus  and  Venus,  or  in  Him  that  is  the  God 
of  Joy?  Shall  woman  echo  the  passions  of  man  or  the 
' Magnificat '  of  Mary?  Shall  the  strength  that  man 
seeks  be  that  of  the  giants,  brute  force  ;  the  strength 
of  woman  be,  in  her  youth  the  bewitchings  of  personal 
beauty,  in  old  age  the  cunning  of  the  witch-hag?  Shall 
it  not  rather  be  in  the  girdle  of  her  moral  worth  ? 

"The  world  needs  to  seek  and  find  love,  beauty  and 
light.  Some  go  after  it,  vainly,  as  did  the  Egyptian 
devotees  of  Phallic  Khem  ;  to  whom,  with  pitiful  incon 
gruity,  were  offered  rampant  goats  and  bulls,  decorated 
with  most  delicate  flowers.  They  called  Khem  the 
*God  of  births/  the  '  beautiful  God,'  but  we  know  to 


A  Coffin  Full  of  Flowers,  etc.  625 

put  mothers  on  the  throne  as  the  beautiful  ;  their 
flowers,  their  jewels,  their  glories  being  their  off  spring  ! 

•'  Women  of  Jerusalem,  never  forget  the  Savior's  own 
words  to  the  women  that  envied  His  mother,  crying 
that  the  one  that  bore  Him  and  nursed  Him  was  there 
fore  peculiarly  blessed  !  His  reply  was  :  '  YEA,  RATHER 
BLESSED  ARE  THEY  THAT  HEAR  THE  WORD  OF  GOD 
AND  KEEP  IT.'  ' 

Then  the  Hospitaler,  bending  his  eyes  upon  the  pale- 
'aced,  widowed  missioner,  continued :  "  I'll  tell  thee  a 
tradition  of  our  Lord's  mother.  Doubting  Thomas, 
laggard  because  doubting,  came  late  to  the  burial-place 
of  Mary.  He  begged  to  have  her  coffin  opened,  that 
once  more  he  might  gaze  on  the  face  of  his  Savior's 
mother.  It  was  done.  But  there  seemed  to  be  noth 
ing  in  that  coffin  except  lilies  and  roses,  luxuriously 
blooming.  Then,  looking  up,  he  saw  the  spirit  of  the 
woman  'soaring  heavenward  in  a  glory  of  light.'  But 
as  she  soared,  she  threw  down  to  him  her  girdle. 
Here  is  a  beautiful  parable.  The  graves  of  the  holy 
are  to  memory  full  of  the  ever-blooming  roses  of  love 
and  the  lilies  of  purity.  If  we  may  not  have  them  we 
loved  with  us  always,  we  may  have  the  virtues  with 
which  they  engirdled  themselves,  for  our  conflicts." 

The  Hospitaler  paused,  cast  a  glance  of  yearning 
tenderness  upon  the  assembled  women  and  the  heart- 
stricken  Cornelius  ;  then  exclaimed  : 

"  Long  partings  are  painful.  Farewell!"  He  glided 
away  ere  any  could  clasp  his  hand.  Not  long  after  this 
event  the  Sheik  of  Jerusalem,  Azrael's  putative  son, 
raided  Bethany,  razing  the  "  Temple  of  Allegory  "  to  the 
earth.  He  was  maddened  because,  after  the  disappear 
ance  of  the  Hospitaler,  there  came  to  him  no  stipend  to 


626  The  Queen  of  the  House  of  David. 

buy  immunity  for  the  "  Bethesda  House"  of  the  "Sisters 
of  Bethany."  He  despoiled  it,  hoping  to  find  a  treas 
ure  therein,  but  though  there  was  in  and  about  the 
place  a  great  wealth,  it  was  all  beyond  his  grasp  or  ken, 
for  he  knew  naught  of  the  worth  or  power  of  precious 
truths  and  precious  memories.  Cornelius,  after  this, 
taking  his  infant  son,  soon  departed  from  Syria.  His 
•dream  of  evangelizing  the  world  and  the  great  designs 
)£  Miriamne  faded  from  his  hopes,  as  the  vision  of  uni 
versal  emoire  has  faded  often  from  the  hopes  of  dying 
Conquerors.  For  years  he  devoted  himself  to  being 
father  and  mother  to  his  child.  At  last  we  behold  him, 
as  in  the  foregoing  pages,  looking  toward  sunset. 
He  stands  finally  in  Bethany,  his  dismantled  home  and 
Miriamne's  ruined  temple  not  far  away,  her  tomb  close 
at  hand,  himself  like  the  fragment  of  a  wreck;  alto 
gether  presenting  a  sad,  dramatic  tableau.  He  stands 
there  as  the  last  of  the  new  "  Grail  Knights,"  the  last  of 
those  who  in  his  time  were  devoted  to  the  new  grai1 
quest.  It  was  Saturnalia-time,  and  it  was  night. 


"VIRGIN  AND  MOTHER  OF  OUR  DEAR  REDEEMER » 
****** 

"  IF  OUR  FAITH  HAD  GIVEN  Us  NOTHING  MORI 
'  THAN  THIS  EXAMPLE  OF  ALL  WOMANHOOD, 
1  So  MILD,  so  STRONG,  so  GOOD, 
''So  PATIENT,  PEACEFUL,  LOYAL,  LOVING,  PURE, 
•'  THIS  WERE  ENOUGH  TO   PROVE  IT  HIGHER  AN/" 

TRUER 
1  THAN  ALL  THE  CREEDS  THE  WORLD  HAD  KNOWN 

BEFORE." 

HENRY  W,  LONGFELLOW. 


JUL  0  1  1985 


DATE  DUE 


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